Dallas 2026 Host Committee co-chairs Ray and Heather Washburne are photographed at the RNC Midterm Headquarters in Victory Plaza in Dallas, September 8, 2026.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
After raising $45 million in under a month for the Republican Party’s midterm convention in Dallas, Dallas 2026 Host Committee co-chairs Ray and Heather Washburne are ready for the event to kick off Wednesday.
Prominent developer Ray Washburne has been involved in Republican fundraising for decades, but the off-cycle midterm convention is the first of its kind. President Donald Trump announced the event in June.
The Washburnes talked with The Dallas Morning News about how the event and fundraising came together and what they’re expecting from the event.
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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did you end up in your role as chair of the host committee?
Ray: Early last spring, Reince Priebus — who’s the former chairman of the RNC, and I was a former national finance chairman of the RNC under him — approached us and said, “We’re looking at several different cities too, but would you be interested with Heather and Kenny and Lisa Trout and Trent Morris of looking at getting into Dallas?” So they looked at several different cities. It came down to Las Vegas and Dallas, and we prevailed. That was early in the spring. It was put together in a pretty short time period.
Why was Dallas ultimately chosen?
Heather: Our state is a great showcase of Republican policies and how, when implemented, people’s lives thrive, businesses thrive. … It was a great likely choice to showcase the state and how all our policies here are really what we’re pushing for the national election.
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You’ve been involved in Republican fundraising for decades, but today’s Republican party is very different than it was a decade ago, 15 years ago. What is different about fundraising for this iteration of the party verses in prior decades?
Ray: Just the amount of money that’s going into these campaigns. When we first got really involved with Bush in 2020, the most someone could give was $1,000, and that seemed hard to raise from a person. And now it’s just totally unlimited. The fact that campaign finance laws have changed, have just opened it up to much much larger contributions.
What do you want this convention to accomplish?
Ray: Just create enthusiasm for the fall for the campaign because after a long, hot, hot summer for everyone around the country, it’s time to get on with the campaign season. This is kind of the kickoff, just like the football season for politics. For the Republican Party and our candidates, this is a chance to showcase themselves going into the fall.
You guys raised $45 million in just under a month. Can you walk me through how you approached fundraising and pitching donors?
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Ray: Dallas has always had a can-do attitude. When something like this comes along, that’s a major national, international event, Dallas comes together and puts the money together for things like this. Whether it’s the World Cup or other events like this, the community comes together.
In the initial release, the host committee said it wanted to defray city costs but also support local businesses. What are you doing to support local businesses?
Heather: Hotels have filled up, lots of transportation, restaurants. There’s lots of side events and side parties for different organizations that are part of the convention, so that’s been great for downtown in this area of Dallas.
Ray: And also marshaling resources for stages and the setup and all that. It’s been a big economic boost for Dallas in what’s typically a very slow time, which is right after Labor Day and right at the end of August.
Are the businesses in the blocked off areas still able to attract customers?
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Ray: Absolutely. All the restaurants and stuff in there have done huge buyouts for different events, for different state organizations, and different things. They’ve been a huge economic participant in this. Normally, Victory this time of year is just kind of a dead zone a little bit, and now it’s going to be very much pre-electric energized time.
What impact do you want the midterm convention to have on Dallas?
Ray: The ’84 convention really put Dallas on the map for a lot of reasons. The World Cup here, just puts us up on the national stage. I think it’s important we stay out in front of people because you look around the city and people are amazed at the cranes in the air and all the economic activity that the city has, and that’s a great way to showcase it-is bringing people in.
Heather: We want people to leave here and say, “What a great city! It was easy to get around. We felt safe,” and just for people to leave and be really impressed with the experience in our city.