When Republican Senate candidates took the stage at President Donald Trump’s convention Wednesday, they steered clear of two big subjects: The war with Iran and tariffs.

Those topics, which have been at the center of Trump’s presidency, have been politically difficult for Republican candidates in battleground races, with polls reflecting voter frustration, particularly with rising prices that have resulted from Trump’s decisions.

Trump, for his part, has encouraged voters to think about the election through the lens of his presidency. “Pretend I’m on the ballot,” Trump said in his address at the convention.

He defended the war as necessary to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon, and said tariffs will revitalize American industries that have lost ground to foreign competitors. (In his address Wednesday night, Trump said “tariff” is one of his favorite words and that “we will win” the war with Iran.)

But the four Senate candidates from battleground states who spoke on the first day of the convention in Dallas, in keeping with other speakers, did not mention those topics. Instead, they cheered his tax and spending law and praised him in other ways, while often focusing on portraying their Democratic opponents as extreme. They were selective in mentioning the president by name.

Here’s a look at their speeches:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton: A longtime defender of the president who benefited enormously from Trump’s backing in the contested Republican primary, Paxton offered some of the strongest praise for Trump.

Paxton named the president five times, saying he “delivered more for this country than anyone before,” and “always stood up for Texas.”

“The press, the courts, and the establishment all tried to take President Trump down, but he has won every single time,” Paxton said.

Trump singled out Paxton in his speech and threw in some affectionate ribbing.

“He may not dress right. He may not talk perfectly. He may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen,” Trump said. “But you know what he is? He’s the greatest attorney general in America and he deserves to be your next senator.”

Trump’s super political action committee is spending $10 million to help Paxton as he takes on Democratic nominee James Talarico, a state representative. Polls show a close race.

Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio: The incumbent Republican, who is in a competitive race against former Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, mentioned Trump’s name twice in his five-minute speech — the same number of times he named former President Joe Biden, whom he criticized.

Husted spoke about how his family “pinched every penny” when he was growing up and highlighted Trump’s sweeping tax package.

“When you work hard and you earn a dollar, you ought to be able to keep as much of that dollar as possible, shouldn’t you?” he said. “Well, that is the principle behind the Working Families Tax Cut law, which I fought for and President Trump signed into law.”

The legislation cut taxes on tips and overtime and extended childcare tax credits for working parents. It also created tax-deferred investment accounts for children, while significantly cutting funding for Medicaid and food stamps.

Former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley: The Republican Senate nominee in North Carolina mentioned Trump once by name to praise the president’s tax package. He devoted much of his speech to criticizing his Democratic opponent, former Gov. Roy Cooper, who is showing strength in the polls. Democrats are increasingly confident about flipping the open seat in North Carolina.

The tax cut “put thousands of dollars back into the hands of families and seniors,” said Whatley, a close ally of Trump’s who chaired the RNC from 2024 to 2025.

Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia: The Republican nominee challenging Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, did not mention Trump by name. But he spoke at length about the first bill Trump signed after taking office in 2025, the Laken Riley Act, which requires the detention of immigrants without permanent legal status if they are arrested for certain crimes.

Collins spent much of his speech criticizing Ossoff. The incumbent has been leading Collins in the polls.

Former Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, the Republican Senate nominee in his state, is slated to speak Thursday. Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa said in a Fox News interview over the weekend that she would travel to Texas on Wednesday and return to Iowa on Thursday. She was not on the list of convention speakers published last week.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, two other Republicans in close races, are skipping the convention. So is former Sen. John E. Sununu, the party’s nominee in New Hampshire.

Democrats argued that Trump’s low approval ratings would drag down his party’s Senate nominees.

“Nothing they say at this convention will shield them from the reckoning voters are eager to deliver when they elect a Democratic majority in November,” Maeve Coyle, a spokesperson for the Senate Democratic campaign arm, said in a statement.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Bayliss Wagner/Shelby Tauber
c. 2026 The New York Times Company