RNC releases convention schedule. See when Abbott, Paxton and more are speaking
The Republican National Committee announced its schedule for speeches from the convention stage, which features prominent Texas politicians on both nights in Dallas.
The first Texan to hit the stage will be Heather Washburne, a co-chair of the Dallas 2026 Host Committee who has long been active in Dallas Republican circles. Following her in the 3 p.m. hour of the convention Wednesday will be Prestonwood Baptist Church Senior Pastor Jack Graham, who was a member of Sen. John Cornyn’s Faith Advisory Council during the Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate. Attorney General Ken Paxton is a member of the Plano-based church.
Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, and her brother Carlos De La Cruz, the GOP candidate for San Antonio-based Congressional District 35, will also address the convention in the 3 p.m. hour Wednesday. Both are in competitive, majority-Hispanic South Texas congressional races that Democrats are hoping to flip in November.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, a former state representative from the Dallas area, will also speak in the first hour.
U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Flower Mound, a freshman lawmaker and rising GOP star, will kick off the 6 p.m. hour. Later in the hour, National Border Patrol Council President Paul Perez — who endorsed Cornyn but quickly backed Paxton after the runoff and introduced the attorney general at a rally in McAllen — will take the stage.
Perez will be followed by Paxton himself. Running in a competitive race, many of the biggest names at the convention — and especially President Donald Trump himself — are working to help Paxton defeat James Talarico, including via fundraising and ad spending on his behalf.
Speakers in the 6 p.m. hour — and subsequent ones — will be competing with the NFL. The 2026 season kicks off at 6:20 p.m. with a rematch of last season’s Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.
Wednesday will close with a keynote address from Trump in the 9 p.m. hour.
Thursday will open with Washburne again, as well as Senior Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas. Jeffress was a member of Cornyn’s Faith Advisory Council, as well.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s speech will close the 3 p.m. hour Thursday.
In the 4 p.m. hour, convention-goers will hear from two more South Texas congressional candidates in tight races — Eric Flores in the 34th Congressional District and Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina in the 28th Congressional District. Both are running against Democratic incumbents who have previously held their seats even as Trump won them in 2024, but which were redrawn to contain more Trump voters.
Sen. Ted Cruz, who will become the state’s senior senator come 2027 and is a potential presidential candidate, will close out the hour.
Gov. Greg Abbott will speak in the 5 p.m. hour, which will also feature a tribute to conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Finally, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, a former Democrat turned Republican, will speak in the 7 p.m. hour. Vice President JD Vance and Trump will close the convention out Thursday.
— Gabby Birenbaum
GOP’s “Trumpapalooza” convention to kick off Wednesday in Dallas
Republicans are gathering in Dallas this week for their first ever midterm convention, putting Texas at the center of the political world during the state’s most competitive election cycle in years.
The two-day gathering, at the American Airlines Center on the edge of downtown, will feature Texas’ top GOP elected officials and candidates, including Attorney General Ken Paxton, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Republican nominees in key battleground districts will also address the convention, as will President Donald Trump, who is closing out both nights — Wednesday and Thursday — with speeches.
National Republicans have branded the event as a “Trumpapalooza,” with a clear goal of energizing GOP voters during a difficult midterm environment — especially the MAGA types who have proven unreliable when Trump is not on the ballot. Republicans are also hoping to stock their campaign coffers during the convention, with five-figure ticket costs and fundraisers throughout the week.
Read more from the Tribune’s story previewing the event.
— Gabby Birenbaum and Kayla Guo
Paxton to run new ad during convention featuring AI-generated Talarico
Attorney General Ken Paxton rolled out an AI-generated ad aimed at convention watchers Tuesday, highlighting controversial comments his opponent James Talarico has made, alongside a fundraising appeal.
The ad features an AI-generated Talarico coloring in a Bible and saying altered versions of the Austin Democrat’s past comments about his interpretation of Christianity. Republicans have seized on many of these remarks throughout Talarico’s U.S. Senate run.
“In the beginning, God was nonbinary, and he wasn’t a Christian — and God said, let there be six genders,” the AI-generated version of Talarico says in the ad.
Talarico said in a 2021 speech that God is nonbinary, which he characterized later as a provocative comment meant to indicate that God is beyond gender. In a debate over transgender athletes in the Texas House in 2021, Talarico said, “modern science recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes — in fact, there are six.”
The Democrat referred to the comments Republicans have clipped as “cringey” earlier this year, saying some “missed the mark.”
The 30-second spot includes a QR code in the corner linking to Paxton’s WinRed fundraising page. The Republican has significantly lagged Talarico in both fundraising and campaign spending; Paxton raised $9 million in the second quarter of 2026 to Talarico’s $30 million.
Paxton’s campaign said the ad will air nationwide on Newsmax, a conservative television network, during the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas.
“His views are an insult to millions of faithful Texans, and it’s time for his extremist views to be exposed,” the attorney general said in a statement.
