HOUSTON — A Mexican eatery in a neighborhood dotted with taquerias seemed an unlikely gathering spot for some of Houston’s most ardent conservatives, many who consider halting the flow of illegal immigrants their top priority.
But that’s where they gathered on a recent Wednesday, chuckling at an opening prayer to keep President Barack Obama safe “because he recruits more Republicans than anyone.”
Speaker after speaker warned of Democratic voter fraud, trumpeted Republican crackdowns on immigration and urged skeptical conservatives — this is ground zero for supporters of Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz after all — to line up behind Donald Trump.
“Most of us are Cruz supporters, but at this point we have got to unite,” said Mark Ramsey, a member of the state GOP’s executive committee. “I finally put a bumper sticker for Trump on my car. It was time to cross that line.”
Read more: In land of Cruz, GOP message is ‘We have to go with who we have’
All year, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has brought you the key moments in those races, and it will continue to cover the campaign’s main events, examine the issues and analyze candidates’ finance reports until the last ballot is counted. You can follow the developments on the AJC’s politics page at https://www.ajc.com/politics/ and in the Political Insider blog at https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/. You can also track our coverage on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GAPoliticsNews or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AJCGaPolitics.
Shifting South: Explore the series
Why the South is anything but solid for either Clinton or Trump
Why Alabama is Trump’s red-state constant
Changing demographics drive Virginia’s purple reboot
In South Carolina, Democrats enjoy ever brief moment of parity
A Trump-Clinton battle royale in must-win North Carolina
A Texas-sized Republican rift over Donald Trump
Florida, once again, could play lead role in deciding election
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