By MICHELLE L. PRICE and LISA MASCARO<\/p>\n
DALLAS (AP) \u2014 Vice President JD Vance<\/a> took the stage Thursday on the second and final night<\/a> of the Republicans\u2019 midterm convention in Dallas, the party knowing that history is not on its side this election season<\/a> but counting on President Donald Trump<\/a> to propel voters to protect their House and Senate majorities.<\/p>\n With Vance taking the primetime speaking slot just ahead of the president, the convention is also teeing up a potential post-Trump future. Vance has not said whether he will run for the White House, and Trump has yet to name an heir apparent, but the crowd roared \u201cJD! JD!\u201d when he stepped to the microphone. <\/p>\n \u201cIt is pretty cool to hear a crowd that is this fired up chant your name, so go ahead and do it again,\u201d Vance said, and the audience obliged.<\/p>\n Republicans are rallying their voters in the midterms while some are also thinking about the next presidential election two years away.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a deep bench,\u201d said Bruce Johnston, 62, who drove 29 hours with his son from Delaware to be in Dallas. \u201cI mean you\u2019ve got a lot of good candidates. I\u2019d pick any of those for the primary. And we\u2019ll get a good one.\u201d<\/p>\n His son, Anthony, 33, said he believes Vance is being groomed as Trump\u2019s successor.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one\u2019s Trump,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I like him a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Republicans hope to avoid midterm losses in November<\/p>\n More immediately, however, Republicans face a potential reckoning this fall. <\/p>\n They are struggling to bolster enthusiasm for congressional candidates and laboring to overcome voters\u2019 concerns about the economy<\/a> and the war with Iran<\/a>. While many Republicans skipped the confab at American Airlines Center, others still see solidarity with Trump as their best shot at winning, despite the president\u2019s low approval rating. <\/p>\n Praise for the president gushed through the convention hall, including a video suggesting that \u201cGod made Trump\u201d for this moment. <\/p>\n Republicans have spent two consecutive nights denouncing Democrats as extremists, and Trump capped Wednesday<\/a> by making the outlandish promise of $5,000 to each American adult if his party wins. Such a proposal could cost more than $1 trillion and was roundly panned by budget experts \u2014 and even some Republicans in the president\u2019s party.<\/p>\n \u201cThe midterms are not supposed to be won by the sitting president,\u201d Trump acknowledged during a lengthy primetime speech.<\/p>\n But he encouraged people to go to the polls as if they were voting for him: \u201cPretend I\u2019m on the ballot.\u201d<\/p>\n House Democrats, in Texas for a second day of counterprogramming, blasted the Republicans\u2019 convention as an opulent spectacle for an out-of-touch president.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Donald Trump and JD Vance party away for two days, the average American family can\u2019t afford the groceries,\u201d said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. \u201cDonald Trump does not care about the average American family or about affordability.\u201d<\/p>\n Protesters chanting \u201csay it loud, say it clear, Donald Trump\u2019s not welcome here\u201d marched down streets, but were stopped by police from getting too close to the site. <\/p>\n Republicans are showcasing accomplishments and eyeing 2028<\/p>\n Vance\u2019s keynote will be closely watched for any hints about his political aspirations. The vice president has demurred on whether he will run for president in 2028, but he\u2019s widely expected to run. <\/p>\n Chants of \u201cJD, JD, JD\u201d broke out at Vance\u2019s meeting with delegates from presidential battleground states Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and his home state of Ohio, according to one attendee.<\/p>\n The vice president, who also serves as the Republican National Committee\u2019s finance chair, raised $2 million for the party earlier Thursday at a fundraiser in Dallas, according to a person familiar with the event who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. <\/p>\n The second night of the convention showcased some of the most electorally endangered Republicans in Congress and those challenging Democrats in tough races, as well as another potential presidential hopeful: Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who railed against liberal Democrats.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must stand and defeat the communists,\u201d Cruz thundered to cheers. \u201cWe must stay America.\u201d<\/p>\n Coming on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the evening solemnly marked that moment. It also produced a video tribute to Kirk, who co-founded the conservative group Turning Point USA. He was assassinated one year ago.<\/p>\n \u201cHis voice has only grown louder,\u201d said Lucas Miles, a pastor and vice president at Turning Point. The president\u2019s son, Donald Trump Jr., drew chants of \u201cUSA!\u201d as he honored Kirk and criticized Democrats.<\/p>\n At one point, Rep. Mike Lawler, who is fighting to win reelection in New York, appeared on stage with the family of Sheridan Gorman, who presented a \u201cbuddy bench\u201d for Congress to sit together. She was fatally shot in Chicago and officials have charged a man they say was illegally in the country.<\/p>\n In a lighter moment, Marty O\u2019Donnell, a composer who is challenging a House Democrat in Nevada, got the crowd to sing along to the earworm jingle he wrote for Flintstones vitamins.<\/p>\n The night\u2019s themes delved into what House Speaker Mike Johnson<\/a> calls the \u201cContrast for America,\u201d as Republicans showcased what they call their \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d<\/a> of tax breaks and spending cuts, and warned of a bleak future if Democrats take control.<\/p>\n The campaign slogan is a throwback to another Republican leader, Newt Gingrich, who offered a Contract with America. This time, rather than presenting a detailed list of priorities, Republicans are quick to portray all Democrats as in line with their most liberal candidates, some backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, and focused on investigating the Trump administration.<\/p>\n \u201cIt truly is a contrast between common sense and crazy,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe cannot and we will not allow them to take the majority in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump hopes the convention will help GOP buck historical trends<\/p>\n With the Republican majorities in the House and Senate both at risk this fall, the president\u2019s agenda for his final two years in office is also at stake. The margins in Congress are expected to be narrow, with a few seats in a shrunken map of competitive races determining the outcome.<\/p>\n Presidents past have acknowledged their midterm losses \u2014 Barack Obama called his 2010 setbacks a \u201cshellacking,\u201d George W. Bush labeled his a \u201cthumping.\u201d<\/p>\n