CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Nexstar) — Republican state leaders and President Donald Trump urged their supporters in the coastal bend to get out and vote as data shows Democrats hold an advantage in the first week of early voting. The rally in Corpus Christi was part of Trump’s fourth visit to the state in the past two months as he tries to energize his base to help the state’s Republican ticket.
The president began his visit at the Port of Corpus Christi where he spoke to a crowded warehouse of about 2,000 of his supporters. He previously visited the port in February to talk about American energy.
Trump spent a majority of his roughly 80-minute speech promoting Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton and ridiculing his opponent, State Rep. James Talarico. The president even played an entire attack ad showing the usual videos Republicans have used to criticize Talarico’s background, including a video where Talarico says there are six genders.
Other notable Republican speakers at the rally in Corpus Christi include Attorney General candidate Mayes Middleton, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud, U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, and congressional candidate Eric Flores.
Flores is running for Congress in TX-34, which runs from Corpus Christi south to Brownsville, against incumbent Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez. TX-34 is one of the five districts Republicans targeted in redistricting to flip from blue to red.
Flores told supporters on Tuesday that he wants to continue the Trump agenda, which includes securing the southern border, securing American energy independence, and securing water for south Texas.
“I will always stand by constituents of District 34 and do what’s right for them,” Flores said to Nexstar right before the rally. The federal prosecutor faced a crowded Republican primary but stood out after Trump endorsed him. Flores said Trump’s visit to his district during early voting was going to bring a lot of energy.
“It’s a great honor to have the president’s endorsement, but most importantly, what people should focus on, it is his second visit to this district,” Flores said. “He is listening to the South Texas voters and he is ready to deliver results for us.”
Trump holds a net negative approval rating in Texas — according to polls from the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs and the Texas Politics Project — but he is extremely popular among Texas Republicans. He believes his visits to Texas will get Republican voters to the polls to outvote Democrats.
Early voting data shows turnout after the first seven days is far outpacing the 2022 midterms by more than 1.5 million votes. According to data compiled by Ryan Data, those who voted in the Democratic primaries in the past hold a 115,000 advantage over Republican primary voters.
After seven days of voting in the 2022 midterms, Republican primary voters held a 385,000 early vote advantage.
The data did appear to have Republican leaders concerned at the rally. Patrick made a passionate plea to supporters to go out and vote, saying the election will be the closest for Republicans in decades.
“We’ve always walked in to November knowing we are going to win, but we’re at risk,” Patrick said to rally goers.
After Corpus Christi, Trump and Paxton traveled to Lubbock Tuesday evening, where the president is expected to speak at 6 p.m. at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center.
Talarico, will also be in Lubbock Tuesday night for a campaign event. Talarico is scheduled to start speaking about a hour after Trump takes the stage at the Republican rally. The competing rallies are less than three miles from each other.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.