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FIRST ON FOX — The Republican National Committee (RNC) is taking a big step toward holding its first-ever midterm convention.
The RNC on Thursday advanced a change to the party’s rules that would allow Chairman Joe Gruters “to convene a special ceremonial convention outside a presidential election cycle,” according to a memo shared first with Fox News Digital.
National political conventions, where party delegates from around the country formally nominate their party’s presidential candidates, normally take place during presidential election years.
But with Republicans aiming to protect their narrow control of the Senate and their razor-thin House majority in this year’s elections, President Donald Trump announced in September that the GOP would hold a convention ahead of the midterms “in order to show the great things we have done” since recapturing the White House.
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The new memo highlights “the possibility of an America First midterm convention-style gathering aligned with President Trump’s vision for energizing the party this fall.”
The party in power, in this case the Republicans, normally faces stiff political headwinds in the midterms. And the hope among Trump and top Republicans is that a midterm convention would give the GOP a high-profile platform to showcase the president’s record and their congressional candidates running in the midterms.
The RNC’s rules are based on holding a convention every four years. The proposed rule change will allow the RNC to hold a midterm convention. If adopted, the rule states that the convention must be called at least 60 days in advance, and no business would be conducted during the gathering.
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The proposed change was adopted Thursday evening by the RNC’s Rules Committee during the party’s winter meeting in Santa Barbara, California.
It’s unclear if the full RNC membership will vote on the rule change when it gathers Friday at the confab’s general session. If the rule isn’t adopted by the full RNC, it’s expected to be approved at the party’s spring meeting.
Gruters, in a statement to Fox News Digital, highlighted that the RNC’s winter meeting “shows how completely united Republicans are behind President Trump and our efforts to win the midterms. The RNC has been aggressively focused on expanding our war chest, turning out voters and protecting the ballot in this fall’s elections. We’re building the operation needed to protect our majorities and give President Trump a full four-year term with a Republican Congress.”
Details on the date and location of the midterm convention will come at a later date and will likely be announced by the president.
But a Republican source told Fox News Digital it’s probable the convention would be held at the same time as the RNC’s summer meeting, which typically occurs in August.
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The rival Democratic National Committee (DNC) may also hold a midterm convention. Sources confirmed to Fox News Digital last summer that DNC chair Ken Martin and other party leaders were quietly pushing the idea of a convention ahead of the midterms.
Democrats held a handful of midterm conventions in the 1970s and 1980s.
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