GOP pumps 'Trump-a-Palooza' with free tickets — but there's a big catch

GOP Convention organizers are trying to lure crowds with free tickets to avoid embarrassing President Donald Trump with empty seats — but there's a serious catch involved, according to a new report. Tim Bates, a 65-year-old longtime Collin County GOP precinct chair, wanted in on the Republican Party's first-ever midterm convention in Dallas — just not badly enough to pay for it, The Dallas Morning News reported Monday. "I was not going to pay $5,000," Bates told the Morning News. Tickets costing thousands of dollars turned off plenty of Texas Republicans interested in attending "Trump-a-Palooza," so organizers set up a lottery for free tickets instead, according to the report. The state party had flagged the free-ticket signup for Trump's rally and Bates "forwarded it to fellow precinct chairs." No standard Texas delegation exists, and a seat can come half a dozen different ways. The state GOP sold "honorary delegate" packages for $10,000, half the $20,000 first advertised, while others got tickets, invites, registration links, or the free lottery. The event is already under threat of GOP lawmakers who have balked at attending, choosing instead to be with their families or campaigning with the midterms weeks away. One Republican lawmaker dismissed the entire project as a "waste of time" and even Melania Trump is opting to skip it. But organizers are still projecting a crowd topping 20,000, and therein lies the catch. Bates told the news outlet his free ticket doesn't guarantee entry if the arena fills up.