Wisconsin's Rep. Derrick Van Orden was the first Republican facing a tossup race in November to take the stage in Dallas. His presence was a rarity so far.

Many Republicans in close contests have stayed away, trying to put some space between them and a president with low approval ratings. Republicans in races rated as tossups who skipped Dallas include Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska. Van Orden, who faces Democrat Rebecca Cooke in the general election, sold the benefits of tax cuts pushed through by Trump. Avoiding the stage among those in close races is counter to Trump's advice. In a social media post Tuesday, the president put it this way: "We're really asking only those Candidates that are in tight Races, a little up, a little down, or even, to speak. We want to save the "stage" for them."