President Donald Trump’s plans to move his Texas midterm rally next week from Waco to Corpus Christi has left local supporters crestfallen.
The Republican National Committee announced the venue Thursday afternoon, just days before the Tuesday event in support of U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton and others. It provided no explanation for the change of venue.
Calls from would-be attendees poured into McLennan County Republican Party headquarters Thursday, said local party administrator Patty O’Day.
“Everybody we’ve talked to is disappointed, but they understand,” O’Day said. “It’s a big bummer for us. We had such a good turnout the last time he was here. … Everybody was happy. We just wanted to relive that again.”
Trump has visited Waco three times in his political career, most recently in 2023, when he launched his most recent presidential bid.
County GOP Chair Chris DeCluitt told KWTX early this week that he felt “giddy” about the Waco plans. He told the Bridge on Wednesday that he was organizing a 100-person party to attend the event. He said he expected the exact site of the rally to be announced Thursday.
He did not return a call Thursday for comment, but O’Day said he planned to attend the Corpus Christi rally.
Waco-area Republican leaders said they could only speculate on the switch-up.
Texas Rep. Pat Curry, R-Waco, said the event was originally planned for Corpus Christi.
“I was surprised that he was coming to Waco and not Corpus,” he said.
Republicans made inroads with South Texas’ Latino electorate in the 2024 presidential election, though polling trends suggest those gains have largely evaporated, leaving several key races in doubt.
Curry believed the reach of TV markets played a deciding factor in the venue change. Unlike Waco, he said, an event in Corpus Christi could rally rural South Texas voters to polls ahead of Election Day, Nov. 3, buttressing vulnerable Republican candidates.
O’Day offered a different explanation.
“The reason is that they feel confident that Ken Paxton is going to win in McLennan County because we’ve been working so hard here, and they need help in Corpus Christi,” O’Day said
