DALLAS – Joe Biden was the target of a few jabs. So was Kamala Harris. Mentions of Nancy Pelosi drew loud boos. 

But Republicans gathered here for a first-of-its-kind party convention eight weeks before the midterm elections mostly signaled they were ready to move on from the old guard of Democratic boogeymen. 

Speakers at the American Airlines Center on Wednesday sprinkled their speeches with attacks on a new crop of progressive Democrats, including Senate nominees Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, James Talarico of Texas and Angie Nixon of Florida.

President Donald Trump, in his keynote address, invoked the specter of communism, asserting that the Democratic establishment has been “overthrown and replaced by crazed lunatics and radicals.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana said the Democratic Party “has been completely taken over by crazy communists.”

And Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the U.S. would turn into a “socialist hellscape” should Democrats gain control of Congress.

Even Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, estranged from his own party, struck a similar chord in a surprise video message introducing fellow Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican. 

“I’m always going to reject the extremes in socialism and that anti-American way of life,’’ he said in the video, filmed in front of a steel mill. (Despite rumors that he is going to switch parties, Fetterman said he remains a “commonsense Democrat.”)

Part rally, part fundraising opportunity, Republicans’ midterm convention did not include any official party business, such as choosing nominees or approving a platform. Instead, it provided the GOP with an opportunity to hone its message and celebrate Trump. Large photos of the president adorned the hallways in the arena, attendees waved signs that read “keep the majority,” and T-shirts emblazoned with “Trump 2026” were for sale outside.

Republicans are defending narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress and contending with a president whose job approval rating has fallen sharply in the face of an unpopular war.

Yet in a lengthy address that capped the night, Trump urged voters to “pretend that I’m on the ballot,” as he promised to provide every American with a $5,000 dividend should the GOP retain control of Washington.

“I’m asking you to let us finish the job we began with the greatest two years in the history of the presidency,” he said.

That message that surely was well received by attendees like Terri Seymour from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, who came to Dallas this week as part of a delegation of about 70 state and local Republican activists.

“We love Donald Trump,’’ she said earlier in the day, standing outside a merchandise shop, where Dallas Mavericks shirts had been replaced by red “Make America Great Again” caps. “Now I can die and go to heaven.”

Seymour, who is 68 and works for Idaho Rep. Russ Fulcher, said she’s worried about the rise of democratic socialism, even in her deep-red state.

“People are moving out of California and Washington and coming to Idaho,” she said. “The growth is unreal.”

“And they’re bringing a lot of the leftist policies,’’ added her friend, Tamara Bateson, 53. 

Stark ideological disagreements with Democrats were red meat for the GOP base. In one of the night’s fieriest speeches, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota cast El-Sayed as an “evil man” for his association with online streamer Hassan Piker and said the Michigan Democrat wants to abolish the police and curtail July 4 fireworks displays. (An El-Sayed campaign spokeswoman told The New York Times that those proposals, taken from old social media posts and podcasts, do not reflect his current beliefs.)  

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his Senate opponent Talarico is running to destroy the American Dream. “He is the most radical Democrat in Texas history,’’ Paxton asserted.

Democrats, who had at one point also pondered holding a midterm convention, derided the GOP for spending “millions of dollars throwing a party for Donald Trump.”

“As Republican candidates worship an unpopular president, Democrats are going on offense and staying focused on lowering costs, making life more affordable, and delivering for working families,’’ Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a statement.

Some Republican lawmakers and candidates, especially those running in purple territory, opted to forgo the convention, a sign they may see proximity to Trump as a detriment back home. 

But many others came, among them Jay Feely, a former NFL kicker and commentator running for an open battleground seat in Arizona.

“I was excited to come here because it’s an opportunity to talk to the entire country, and an opportunity to advocate for Arizona,’’ Feely said in an interview Wednesday before his prime-time remarks to attendees. “Those things are important, and I’m going to take every opportunity I get to do that.” 

The focus on attacking ultraliberal Democrats contrasted with the GOP’s 2024 messaging, which emphasized cost-of-living concerns. With the gas topping $4 a gallon in much of the nation amid an unpopular conflict with Iran, few Republican speakers mentioned affordability.

Trump, though, alluded to both issues in his remarks and said the price of oil will fall once the U.S wins the Iran war.

For some in the crowd, the attacks on progressive Democrats struck the right tone. 

“It’s the exact right strategy to just put these people on display, and show the American people who they are,’’ said Ty Bommarito, 22, the chairman of the Michigan College Republicans and a student at Michigan State University. “The policies that these people represent, they are scary. They’re radical and extreme.’’

Democrats, said Amy Kremer, a Republican National committeewoman from Georgia, have no message. 

“They’ve got two things: They’ve got communism or socialism, and then they’ve got ‘Impeach the president and destroy his family.’ That’s all they’ve got,” she said.