Cruz Will Talk to Harris County GOP Before Feb. 25 Debate

The Harris County GOP on Wednesday announced home state senator Ted Cruz will speak at its Lincoln-Reagan Dinner later this month. 

The dinner is being held Feb. 24 in Houston, a day before the Republican debate in the city and six days before the Texas primary. 

Cruz is the first White House hopeful to confirm for the dinner. The party says it has invited all GOP candidates to speak at the event.

Cruz, meanwhile, is continuing to position himself as the inheritor of the libertarian vote following Rand Paul's decision to exit the presidential race.

Cruz's efforts got their biggest boost yet Monday morning, when his campaign announced the endorsement of Kevin Avard, a New Hampshire state senator who had chaired Paul's campaign in the Granite State. The announcement came a day after

Cruz's team said it had secured the backing of five state representatives who had supported Paul, Cruz's Republican colleague in the U.S. Senate.

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U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida will make his pitch to Houston donors on Feb. 24.

Rubio's presidential campaign will host a fundraiser a day ahead of the CNN/Telemundo/Salem Radio debate in the same city.

General reception attendees are asked to donate $1,000, while the price for a VIP event is $2,700. According to the invitation, "Texas bundlers" who raise $27,000 will get a ticket to the Houston debate.

Rubio on Thursday announced 14 new members of his Texas Leadership Team, a list highlighted by former Congressman Francisco “Quico” Canseco, former state Rep. Jim Pitts, former state Sen. Dan Shelley, former state Rep. Raul Torres, former state Rep. Beverly Woolley and former U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Chairman Massey Villarreal.

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Tejano Democrats, the largest Latino political organization in Texas, announced its endorsement of Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday. The group’s delegate leaders voted to support Clinton’s candidacy in a convention in Houston, according to the campaign.

“We left the convention with clear political goals of supporting Hillary Clinton and getting out the vote,” said Frumencio Reyes, a legal advisor for the Harris County Tejano Democrats. “For the first time in our history we will have a woman at the helm which is greatly needed to guide us through these turbulent times, not just locally but throughout the world.”

After Bernie Sanders commanding victory in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday night and tightening national polls, Texas is taking on a significant role in the primary, with 252 delegates up for grabs and an earlier-than-usual Super Tuesday election day on March 1. Clinton aides and supporters believe she will have an advantage once the race moves on to more diverse areas of the country — places like Houston, Dallas and South Texas.

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Texans will soon start seeing at least one presidential candidate on their TVs. 

With roughly three weeks until the state's primary, a super PAC supporting former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is going on the air here. The group, Right to Rise, has reserved $5.6 million worth of TV time in Texas starting Tuesday and running through Feb. 29.

While the buy begins Tuesday, ads will not begin airing until later in the week, Right to Rise spokesman Paul Lindsay said.

He declined to detail the content of the commercials the group plans to run in Texas.

Right to Rise announced about three months ago it was booking TV time in Texas. No other group supporting a candidate has gone public yet with plans to advertise on the state's airwaves.

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State Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, has been well known throughout her tenure in the Legislature for being one of the most conservative members in the House. This election season, though, her conservative bona fides are being challenged from several conservative activist groups who are backing primary challenger Valoree Swanson.

Riddle fired back at her detractors on Wednesday in a post she placed on her Facebook page, suggesting their opposition was spurred more by her decision to support Joe Straus for House Speaker.

“This is really about a true contempt that a few billionaires have for Speaker Straus. These people & those wanting their money & influence are wanting to make an example out of me to other legislators -- to gain more control,” she wrote. “I believe I will win this race because I have been honest with the voters, worked hard, admitted mistakes when made & I have kept our conservative voice strong in Austin.”