Trump Taps Six Texans to Help With Hispanic Outreach

Texas is the most represented state on the 23-member National Hispanic Advisory Council for Trump, which met for the first time Saturday in New York. Some reports out of the meeting indicated that GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump had expressed an openness to softening his hardline immigration views, which the campaign denied.

The six Latino leaders from Texas advising Trump are Eddie Aldrete, senior vice president of IBC Bank; Henry Bonilla, a former congressman from San Antonio; Rick Figueroa, a former candidate for Republican National Committeeman, Jacob Monty, an immigration lawyer; Ramirez Pena, a pastor; and Massey Villarreal, CEO and president of Precision Task Group.

"The RNC joins the Trump campaign in recognizing the diverse group of Hispanic leaders who are generously giving of their time and talent to be a part of the National Hispanic Advisory Council for Trump,” Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said in a statement Saturday. "Their participation is just one component of our expansive effort to engage the Hispanic community, and their contributions will help us compete for every vote in every community all the way through Election Day."

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Trump raised at least $2 million in his swing through Texas on Tuesday, two sources close to the campaign tell the Texas Tribune. 

With that sum, Texas lived up to its traditional role in general election campaigns — as one of the top money raising states in GOP politics. His Texas travels — which included an Austin rally — raised many eyebrows given that Texas is a reliably conservative state. 

But it was worth his effort, by all appearances. The trip included a Fort Worth lunch fundraiser and a dinnertime money-raising event in Austin.

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Former President Bill Clinton was in Texas on Thursday to raise money for his wife's presidential campaign. He was scheduled to attend a fundraiser in the morning in Houston, one in the afternoon in Dallas and another in the evening in San Antonio.

Those attending the Houston event were being asked to give or raise $20,000 per person or $33,400 per couple. The range was $1,000 to $33,400 for the Dallas fundraiser and $2,700 to $33,400 for the San Antonio event.

According to invitations, hosts of the fundraisers include Bill White in Houston, Carrin Patman and Sima Ladjevardian in Houston; Sharon and Kneeland Youngblood as well as Norrene and Eugene Duffy in Dallas; and Kyle Ferari, Henry Muñoz, and Maria and Jose Villarreal in San Antonio.

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The top super PAC allied with House Republican leadership is coming to the defense of U.S. Rep. Will Hurd — to the tune of $800,000.

That's how much the Congressional Leadership Fund says it will initially spend on Hurd's rematch with Democrat Pete Gallego in Texas' 23rd congressional district. The super PAC announced the six-figure investment Monday as part of its $10 million first wave of spending on House races this fall.

The $800,000 effort in CD-23 includes TV advertising and begins Oct. 25 in the San Antonio area, the super PAC said.

"We’re proud to support Republicans like Will Hurd, who is running on providing conservative, solutions-based leadership in the House. From the airwaves to the ground game, Democrats will have no place to hide from their support of the failed Obama-Clinton agenda," CLF spokeswoman Ruth Guerra said in a statement. "Voters need to look no further than the Iran deal ransom and Hillary’s email scandal to know they don’t want more dishonest Democrats in Congress."

The Hurd-Gallego contest has already drawn millions of dollars in investment from the campaign arms of House Democrats and Republicans. It is the only competitive race on the ballot this fall in November, and Democrats view it as one of their surest pickup opportunities across the country.