DALLAS — The Republican Party’s two-day midterm convention ended Thursday with President Donald Trump surrounded by falling red, white, blue and gold balloons and the triumphant strains of Puccini’s “Nessun dorma.” The spectacle was designed to project confidence ahead of November’s elections. Instead, it also exposed the central problem confronting Republicans: Trump remains the party’s strongest force for motivating conservative voters—and its biggest obstacle with Americans unhappy about the economy, an ongoing war with Iran and the party’s record in power. Thousands of seats, including most of the upper level at the American Airlines Center, sat empty during both days of the Dallas gathering. Trump nevertheless described the arena as packed and said thousands more people were waiting outside. The attendance questions came as Republicans repeatedly pleaded with Trump supporters to vote for candidates other than the president. “I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot,” Trump told delegates Wednesday. The next night, he warned supporters, “You know what happens if you don’t vote? You go to hell.” The party’s enthusiasm problem is compounded by divisions inside the MAGA coalition. Republicans have fractured over the administration’s Iran policy, the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, higher gas prices and increased costs associated with tariffs. Democrats, meanwhile, have shown stronger motivation since their 2024 losses and have improved their margins among nearly every major voter group in state and local elections. Trump used his convention speech to offer a politically flashy proposal: a $5,000 payment to American adults if Republicans retain control of both the House and Senate. The condition was clear, but the speech did not provide a detailed funding mechanism for the proposed dividend. The president also framed the election as a choice between “common sense versus crazy” and repeatedly labeled Democrats as socialists, communists and radicals. “America has beaten communism before and we will beat it again,” Trump said. Republican candidates followed that lead, often devoting more time to attacking Democratic opponents than laying out detailed policy plans. North Carolina Senate nominee Michael Whatley called former Gov. Roy Cooper the state’s worst governor on child safety. Ohio Sen. John Husted accused former Sen. Sherrod Brown of favoring China over Ohio communities. Pennsylvania Rep. Ryan Mackenzie called his opponent, Bob Brooks, a “far-left nut job.” Michigan’s Senate race drew some of the sharpest rhetoric. Former Rep. Mike Rogers attacked Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, accusing him of associating with extremists and calling him “a con man” while presenting himself as “a law man.” Republican speakers did highlight the sweeping tax and spending cuts approved last year, Trump’s executive actions reversing Biden-era policies and promises of additional changes if the GOP keeps power. But the convention offered few specifics on how the party would address the issues most likely to affect household budgets. The war in Iran received particularly little attention. Trump had campaigned on avoiding new wars, but the conflict remains unresolved. Diesel prices have climbed above $6 a gallon, and crude oil prices have approached historic highs, raising costs for truckers, farmers, businesses and consumers. Vance acknowledged that some Republicans disagree with the administration’s policies but urged them not to abandon the party. “Don’t give the country over to a bunch of crazy people because you happen to disagree with us on a policy issue here or there,” he said. He pointed to what he called the administration’s achievements and asked voters to focus on the contrast with Democrats. The gathering also offered an early preview of the Republican Party’s 2028 succession fight. Vance, Sen. Ted Cruz, Donald Trump Jr. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were among the figures discussed or featured as possible future presidential contenders, but the convention did not produce a clear handoff from Trump to any successor. Meredith Smith, a convention attendee, said she wished Trump could run again. “Trump is kind of a one time thing,” she said, adding that she believed God had chosen him for the moment. Her friend Sherri Hopson said she was watching Vance and Rubio as possible future leaders and hoped they might run together. The convention arrived after Labor Day, traditionally the start of the general-election stretch. Polling averages cited at the gathering’s close showed Republicans at risk of losing their majorities in both chambers of Congress. Democrats have outraised and outspent Republicans in many competitive races and have dominated television advertising, although Republican campaign committees and Trump’s MAGA, Inc. super PAC reportedly have hundreds of millions of dollars available for a final push. Time is running short. Mail ballots are already being returned in states including North Carolina, early in-person voting is approaching and many television advertising slots have been reserved. For Republicans, the Dallas convention made the strategy unmistakable: keep Trump at the center, portray Democrats as extremists and hope the president’s ability to turn out the base outweighs voter anger over war, prices and the party’s performance in office.