President Donald Trump<\/a>, is expected to draw wealthy donors, elected officials, lobbyists and activists from across the country. That makes it a prime opportunity for fundraising alongside the GOP’s political messaging.<\/p>\nThe practice has drawn criticism from watchdog groups, who say it rewards big givers with privileged access to elected leaders. National convention organizers have long argued that donors back the events out of civic pride and to help the parties, not to buy influence.<\/p>\n
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A fundraising flyer circulating online from the Texas Republican Party appeals to supporters to help build “the foundation for the next 250 years of American greatness\u201d by purchasing one of three packages for the convention.<\/p>\n
A $5,000 donation includes an \u201cHonorary Guest\u201d credential, while the $15,000 package adds hotel accommodations and preferred seating.<\/p>\n
At the highest tier, a $20,000 contribution includes what the party calls an \u201cHonorary Delegate Credential ON THE FLOOR,\u201d along with hotel accommodations, a Texas flag-inspired shirt, cowboy hat and other benefits.<\/p>\n
Unlike a traditional presidential nominating convention, the gathering Sept. 9-10 at the American Airlines Center will not choose a presidential ticket or conduct party business.<\/p>\n
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Instead, Republican leaders say it will serve as a showcase for Trump, the party’s candidates and the GOP’s message, seeking to fire up its base heading into the November midterm elections.<\/p>\n
Questions remain about how \u201cdelegates\u201d will be chosen and what, if any, responsibilities they will have.<\/p>\n
Trump announced the unusual midterm GOP convention a week ago, saying it would celebrate the party’s accomplishments and rally supporters.<\/p>\n
Democrats have dismissed the gathering and said voters are focused more on affordability concerns, such as the high price of groceries and housing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Republican Party is operating their midterm convention the same way they operate the state and federal government \u2014 pay to play,\u201d Texas Democratic Party chairman Kendall\u00a0Scudder said of the donor solicitation.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIf you have money, you go to the front of the line while everyone else is left out, shut out, and ignored,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
End Citizens United, which advocates getting big money out of politics, said such packages demonstrate how deep-pocketed donors are corroding American democracy.<\/p>\n
The group’s president, Tiffany Muller, said tying convention access to large contributions reinforces the perception that \u201cthe wealthy and well-connected play by a different set of rules\u201d and demonstrates the need for stronger campaign finance reforms.<\/p>\n
Defending the cost<\/p>\n
The Travis County Republican Party shared a snapshot of the fundraising flyer on X, alerting users that making a donation can secure status as an honorary delegate and urging those interested to contact the state party \u201cas soon as you can.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Travis County GOP later sought to justify the cost.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile this may sound a little pricey, consider that attending [a] National Convention is normally going to run about that for the week,” its post said.<\/p>\n
The flyer reviewed by\u00a0The Dallas Morning News says orders for tickets must be received by July 14 \u201cto ensure delivery\u201d and notes the Republican National Committee has given the state party a \u201cvery short timeframe\u201d to submit attendee information and a limited allocation of credentials.<\/p>\n
The RNC referred questions about the fundraising flyer to the Texas GOP.<\/p>\n
State party Chair D’rinda Randall said the gathering in September is “strictly a fundraiser” and not a convention in any true sense because party business is not being discussed.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe need funds in order to be ready for the midterms,\u201d Randall said. \u201cIt\u2019s just as simple as that. There\u2019s nothing nefarious in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said plans remain fluid because of the unprecedented nature of the event. That includes the contribution amounts listed in the flyer, she said, adding that the party could establish additional ways for Texans to attend.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to be flexible because it has never been done before,” Randall said.<\/p>\n
Other state parties are separately recruiting delegates to attend the gathering. That underscores the event’s dual role as a political rally and a networking opportunity for Republicans from across the country.<\/p>\n
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Florida, for example, has opened applications for delegates, who will pay for their own travel and lodging, as well as an unspecified \u201cdelegate fee.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Donald Trump leaves the stage Wedneday after speaking at the Burning Hills Amphitheater during the Theodore Roosevelt…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,101234,91243],"class_list":["post-363841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-tp-congress","tag-tp-donald-trump"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}