NM race to get national spotlight at GOP midterm convention

Republican congressional candidate Greg Cunningham is set to appear on the national stage this week as the GOP puts New Mexico’s closely watched 2nd Congressional District contest in the spotlight at its first-ever midterm convention in Dallas.

Cunningham, the Republican nominee challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, is among a relatively small group of House candidates scheduled to speak at the Sept. 9-10 event, according to a preliminary speaker list first reported by Axios.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to address the convention, while Vice President JD Vance will also deliver a keynote. The broader lineup includes House Speaker Mike Johnson, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump Jr., former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and other Republican officials and candidates. The convention is intended in large part to boost Republican turnout ahead of November’s elections.

For New Mexico, however, Cunningham’s inclusion stands out.

According to the announced roster, he is the only New Mexico congressional candidate currently listed among the speakers. New Mexico Political Report similarly noted that Cunningham is, so far, the only New Mexico candidate or elected official on the announced agenda.

Cunningham, a retired Albuquerque police detective and Marine veteran, won the Republican nomination for the 2nd District in June and is challenging Vasquez in November.

On social media Sunday, Cunningham confirmed that he plans to attend the Dallas gathering.

“I’m going to be highlighting the State of New Mexico for the rest of the country,” Cunningham said, according to New Mexico Political Report.

Addressing Vasquez directly in a video, Cunningham said he intends to use the national platform to focus on “what you and your party have done to our state.”

The appearance comes just weeks after Johnson traveled to Albuquerque to campaign with Cunningham, another sign that national Republicans are putting attention on the southern New Mexico-based congressional contest.

Trump, Vance and major GOP figures headline

The Dallas convention will feature Trump prominently across the two-day event, with organizers framing it as a way to keep Trump-aligned voters engaged even though the president himself is not on the ballot.

Axios reported that roughly 100 Republican lawmakers and candidates are expected to participate either as speakers or attendees.

Among the congressional candidates scheduled to appear are Republicans running in competitive races in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, New York, Ohio and Texas.

Cunningham’s placement alongside that group suggests national Republicans are treating NM-02 as one of the contests worth showcasing during the convention.

The event will also include Senate candidates such as Michigan Republican Mike Rogers and North Carolina Republican Michael Whatley, along with sitting lawmakers including New York Rep. Mike Lawler and Pennsylvania Reps. Rob Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie, according to Axios.

Vasquez attacks Cunningham over Trump alignment

Vasquez’s campaign has responded by trying to make Cunningham’s participation a liability.

According to New Mexico Political Report, Vasquez criticized Cunningham over the weekend for appearing at a Trump-centered event shortly after Trump posted a meme depicting New Mexico as “New America.”

Trump shared an altered map in which “Mexico” was crossed out and replaced with “America,” prompting responses from several Democratic members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation.

Vasquez wrote separately that Trump did not have the right to “erase New Mexico” and argued that Cunningham’s appearance at the Dallas convention demonstrated his alignment with the president.

That dispute now gives both campaigns a preview of the message they may take into the final weeks of the race: Cunningham is embracing the opportunity to appear alongside national Republican leaders, while Vasquez is seeking to connect Cunningham as closely as possible to Trump and his agenda.

National attention turns to NM-02

The convention comes as Republicans focus heavily on turnout and congressional control.

Axios reported that organizers are particularly concerned about whether voters who turned out for Trump in 2024 will return to the polls in a midterm election when his name is not on the ballot.

That makes candidates such as Cunningham important to the event’s broader strategy: tie competitive congressional races to national Republican messaging while giving candidates a chance to introduce themselves to activists and donors around the country.

For Cunningham, the Dallas appearance provides perhaps his largest national platform yet.

Rather than simply attending, he is on the announced speaker roster alongside some of the highest-profile figures in Republican politics.

And with Cunningham preparing to use the convention to make his case about New Mexico while Vasquez attacks him for standing with Trump, the already high-profile NM-02 race is poised to receive even more national attention this week.