President Donald Trump rallied Republicans in Corpus Christi on Tuesday, asking voters to turn out in the last week before the midterm elections. Supporters lined up outside the Port of Corpus Christi early in the morning, in pouring rain, for the president's second visit to the city this year.
State Rep. Todd Hunter said, "It's pure math. Republicans vote, we win!" Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said almost 2 million Republicans had not yet voted and warned that the election could be one of the closest in state history. Trump said that supporters should vote as if he were on the ballot. Eric Flores, the Republican challenging Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, and Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz, who is facing Democrat Bobby Pulido, both drew strong reactions from the crowd.
Trump also campaigned for Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican running against Democrat James Talarico in the U.S. Senate race. Trump criticized Talarico's positions on energy, immigration and what Trump called "gender mutilation." At the port, Trump also announced a ship carrying one million barrels of oil from Venezuela, which he described as part of a larger expected supply.