Thune skips midterm convention speech as GOP leaders gather for election push

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is among the Republican Party’s most notable national leaders not delivering a speech at the first-ever midterm convention in Texas later this week. The Republican National Committee has released the full list of keynote speakers for the party’s convention. Unlike his House counterpart, Thune was noticeably absent from the lineup. He is still expected to attend the convention in Dallas, though. The convention is arriving less than 60 days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, when the nation will decide the fate of the Republican Party’s control over Congress.