WASHINGTON — Donald Trump will headline a Dallas fundraiser on May 9 to help Republican congressional candidates.
The event at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel is dubbed “Countdown to the Majority” by the party’s House campaign arm, reflecting hopes for the November midterm elections.
Trump has remained a fundraising powerhouse since his defeat. Last November, he headlined a dinner in Tampa, Florida, that raised an astonishing $17 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Donors who give $35 or more have a chance to win one night at the Renaissance and two seats at the dinner.
Trump’s last visit to Dallas was three months ago. In appearances at a First Baptist Dallas service the Sunday before Christmas, and at the American Airlines Center that afternoon, he dropped hints about a 2024 comeback bid, declaring that with so many “dark clouds” hanging over the United States “our country needs a savior right now.”
The party that controls the White House almost always suffers big setbacks in the election two years after the presidential contest. And Democrats held only a nine-seat edge after the 2000 elections, down from a more comfortable 35-seat margin before then.
Add high inflation, and that’s a recipe for a potential rout that would leave Speaker Nancy Pelosi handing the gavel to a Republican successor when the new Congress convenes in January — likely the Republican minority leader, Kevin McCarthy of California, who will appear at the Dallas dinner along with other House GOP leaders.
Democrats have a glimmer of hope, though, thanks to gerrymandering.
In Texas, redistricting did Democrats no favors. Republicans control the Legislature and kept 24 of the state’s 38 congressional seats for themselves as they carved up the state — a generous helping considering that Trump carried the state by just 6 percentage points.
Elsewhere, though, in states controlled by Democrats, it’s Republicans who’ve been shortchanged. Political handicappers see a rarity in 2022: a congressional landscape with a near even balance between seats dominated by Democrats or Republicans. Election night could be a nail-biter, with President Joe Biden’s agenda in the balance.
In a competitive environment, the millions that Trump could help rake in will be crucial.
The latest projections put the odds at 2-1 that Republicans will win back the House.
Last July, Trump headlined the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Hilton Anatole, across the freeway from the Renaissance.
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