Convenience Big Store: Texans head to swing states for White House battle

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Going where the fight is

Texas politicians are increasingly being dispatched to the front lines of the presidential race.

While neither campaign is spending much time in Texas down the stretch — except to fundraise — both have been calling on key leaders in Houston, San Antonio and beyond to help them in other states.

"I'm just trying to help any way I can," U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, said as she prepared to head to Nevada on Wednesday to campaign for Harris.

She's just the latest Texan to hit Nevada to campaign. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, both Houston Republicans, were there on Friday to campaign with former President Donald Trump at a rally. The next day, Hunt was a featured speaker in California for another Trump rally.

"This man literally took a bullet for this country," Hunt said to applause as he referenced the assassination attempt of Trump in July.

Meanwhile, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who was featured during the Democratic National Convention in August, has also been hitting the road for Harris. Earlier this month, she was in Tuscon, Ariz., to help rally campaign volunteers. Early voting in Arizona is already underway. San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg is expected to travel there and to Nevada this weekend for campaign stops.

But it's not just the presidential race getting Texans on the road. Cornyn, who is angling for a key leadership position in the U.S. Senate, has been traveling to campaign with other GOP Senate candidates in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania in hopes Republicans can retake the majority this fall.

Last week, Cornyn hosted fundraisers in Dallas and Houston that pulled in close to $1 million to help Republican Senate candidates in Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan and Montana.

Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter

jeremy.wallace@houstonchronicle.com

Who's up, who's down

Up: Mike Miles.

An investigation into alleged misuse of state funds by the Texas Education Agency concluded Third Future Schools Texas — a Colorado-based charter school network founded by Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles — did not violate any Texas laws. The investigation also found "no evidence" of any wrongdoing by Third Future Schools or Miles, who was not one of the subjects of the TEA's investigation.

Down: Free Trade.

Remember when the Republican Party was firmly supporting free trade to expand global markets? That has certainly changed given what Donald Trump said in an interview in which he vowed to pursue higher tariffs on a range of imports. "To me the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff. It's my favorite word," he said.

What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.

What else is going on in Texas

A voter leaves after voting Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at West Gray Multiservice Center in Houston.

Photo by: Yi-Chin Lee, Staff Photographer

Appeals court clears path for Ken Paxton's vote harvesting probes

The ruling temporarily reinstates portions of Texas' 2021 voting law regulating ballot handling, which a lower court judge called overly vague.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Outpost 36 BBQ, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Keller, Texas.

Photo by: Elías Valverde II, The Dallas Morning News/TNS

Ted Cruz leads Colin Allred by slim margin in new UH poll

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is up 4 percentage points over U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, according to a new survey from The Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston.

The Supreme Court is seen on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Washington.

Photo by: Mariam Zuhaib, AP

Supreme Court opens door to Texas online journalist's lawsuit over her arrest

The Supreme Court has ordered an appeals court to take a new look at the lawsuit filed by a Texas-based online citizen journalist who said she was wrongly arrested.

Senator Ted Cruz speaks to supporters as he hosted a law enforcement and public safety rally with law enforcement leaders at King's Bierhaus on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Houston.

Photo by: Karen Warren, Staff Photographer

Ted Cruz says he's getting no help from national GOP in U.S. Senate fight

Ted Cruz told Fox News he's being massively outspent by Colin Allred on the airwaves and couldn't even afford to get his own ads on TV until three weeks ago.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, right, and Mexican businessperson Francisco Cervantes arrive for a news conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024.

Photo by: Fernando Llano, AP

Mexico says foreign firms have pledged $20 billion in investments

Mexican officials say companies have pledged billions in new foreign direct investment, but it is not clear how much of that is new, or certain.

Pick of the day

Republican Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz speaks during a rally Saturday afternoon in Seguin which featured United States House Speaker Mike Johnson.

We've talked about this race before in the Texas Take, but Isaac Yu has a deeper look at this battle in South Texas where U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz is seeking to win re-election against Democrat Michelle Vallejo. This is considered the most competitive Congressional race in all of Texas.

What else I'm reading

I joined MSNBC's Chris Jansing on Tuesday to preview the senate debate between Ted Cruz and Colin Allred and explain why the race is so close in Texas. NBC News Capitol Hill Correspondent Ryan Nobles and former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro joined me on the segment here.