Pennsylvania politicians from both sides of the aisle are front and center in Dallas for ‘Trumpapalooza’

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It was the first night of the two-day 2026 Republican midterm convention when a well-known Pennsylvania Democrat made a surprise virtual appearance.

About halfway through the Wednesday night event, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman appeared in his iconic hoodie with the U.S. Steel plant in Pittsburgh in the frame behind him.

He was there to introduce his “great friend” and fellow Pennsylvanian, Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, but first took the opportunity to attack what he called the “extreme left” of his party.

“Yes, I’m a Democrat. Why am I here talking to you today? Because well, I’m a common sense Democrat,” he told the audience thousands, most of whom held signs saying “Made in the USA.”

“I’m always going to stand with America. I’m always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life,” he added.

Fetterman then pointed to the steel mill as a symbol of his cooperation with McCormick.

“That’s exactly the kind of thing that we’ll work together and we’ll work with President [Donald] Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life right here in the Steel Valley,” he said.

A moment later, McCormick took the podium at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

“How great is John Fetterman?” McCormick asked the group rhetorically. “Thank you Sen. Fetterman for your friendship. Thank you for your courage and thank you for all you do for Pennsylvania.”

McCormick continued the theme of returning industry to the commonwealth, including steel, nuclear power, drug development and shipbuilding.

“We rejected decline and America elected President Trump and Republican majorities and we have delivered,” he said. “There is no doubt that the Republican Party is the party of the American worker. And Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania proves it.”

He then denigrated Fetterman’s party — the Democrats — as a “radical movement” that “excuses lawlessness.”

“It vilifies the police. It disparages our military. It attacks our business. It spews antisemitism and it celebrates those who despise America,” he said. “They still call themselves the party of [former President Franklin D. Roosevelt], but at this point FDR might ask for a recount.”

The “midterm convention” is the first such event Republicans have ever held, and the first either party has held in 50 years. Wednesday night, Trump spoke for an hour and 44 minutes, giving some credence to Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters’ earlier description of the event as “Trumpapalooza.”

Some Democrats attacked Fetterman for his appearance at the event.

Democrats have also criticized the event as an effort to gin up excitement in the runup to an unfavorable election.

“This is a GOP convention out of weakness and out of fear that they are losing,” U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Bala Cynwyd, told WHYY News.

Vulnerable Pennsylvania Republicans go visible

Several other Pennsylvania Republicans attended the event, including Reps. Scott Perry, R-Harrisburg; Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley; Rob Bresnahan, R-Scranton; and Lloyd Smucker, R-Lancaster.

Bresnahan and Mackenzie spoke at the event, and both touted tax cuts enacted by the Working Families Tax Cut Act — better known as the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill.”

On Wednesday, Bresnahan said the bill had helped average Americans and boosted the economy.

“That extra money reaches places like the diner down the street, the local grocery store and the family buying their first home,” he said. “That’s how you build communities where people could stay, raise a family and build a life. I’m ready to keep fighting to preserve these tax cuts and stop Democrats from repealing them.”

However, a recent poll commissioned by Politico found that a majority of Americans do not see the bill or the tax cuts as having benefitted them. Combined with rising grocery prices and the cost of gas, which experts blame on the war with Iran, has contributed to a dramatic loss in Trump’s favorability, including among Republicans. Another poll released by Quinnipiac University shows Trump underwater by 26 points with 59% of voters disapproving of his performance.

Bresnahan and Mackenzie narrowly won their elections in 2024 and their districts are seen as two of the best opportunities for Democrats to flip as they attempt to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Out-of-district rallies are ‘exciting’ but not helpful

Bresnahan did not mention his challenger but Mackenzie took the opportunity to attack his Democratic opponent, firefighter and union leader Bob Brooks.

“He will do the bidding for the establishment Democrats and far-left radicals who are funding his campaign,” he said. “If he is elected, he has said he would repeal the working family’s tax cuts, and that means going back to wide open borders and higher taxes.”

Shortly after the speech, Brooks’ campaign released a statement that said “Mackenzie’s trip to Dallas is a reminder of who he is: a lap dog for Donald Trump, for his party bosses, and for anyone with power and money.”

“I answer to the Lehigh Valley,” Brooks said in the statement. “Ryan Mackenzie answers to Trump.”

While the stage offered a spotlight and airtime for the two candidates, political strategist Sam Chen — who has managed successful Republican congressional campaigns — told WHYY News that Mackenzie and Bresnahan would be better off staying closer to home.

“Rallies and conventions — especially national ones — are exciting, but the return on investment is close to zero, if not negative, especially for first-term congressional incumbents,” he said. “You’re taking time and finances away from your district to connect with an audience that can’t vote for you.”

Dean agreed, adding that tying themselves more closely to an increasingly unpopular president would further hurt their reelection chances.

“I don’t know if it’s wise or not, to saddle themselves to this president as closely as they can in hopes of saving themselves in reelection,” she said. “I don’t think it will work.”

Dean joined a group of Democratic lawmakers sent to Dallas for what she called “counter-programming” in which they met with the Dallas area congressional delegation, local community leaders and the Texas Democratic Party, along with some local constituents.

In the race for Texas’ open U.S. Senate seat, Democrat James Talarico is leading Republican Ken Paxton, according to the most recent polling. No Democrat has won a Senate seat in the Lone Star State in nearly 40 years.