Republican presidential candidates visit North Texas amid growing field vying for nomination
NORTH TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) — The race for the White House came through North Texas for two Republican candidates.
They include former South Carolina Governor and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who attended a fundraiser at a Dallas home Wednesday evening and campaigned in West Texas Thursday morning.
At a news conference, Haley championed the oil and gas industry and vowed to increase U.S. energy production.
"Now is the time to realize that energy security is national security. First, we're going to stop demonizing energy producers, and we're going to empower them to go and help us. We want to make sure that we stop all the green subsidies, get those out of the way. We want to speed up permitting so that these pipelines can happen faster."
UT Arlington political science professor Rebecca Deen said Haley's visit to West Texas is telling. "That tells me that she's trying to solidify her bonafides among the most conservative in the GOP electorate."
Another Republican vying for the party's nomination is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who also attended a fundraiser in downtown Fort Worth, where CBS News Texas saw him leaving Thursday morning.
He then headed to another event at a Dallas home and later held a similar event in Houston.
"Texas has deep pockets," Deen said. "There are viable candidates who are going to come through here for fundraising, not only for garnering actual money but also to increase their cachet among that donor elite."
They're among the 10 Republican candidates, which includes former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
"There's dissatisfaction among the GOP electorate. It is interesting that a former President is garnering so many opponents," Deen said.
Christie is going after Trump.
At a townhall in New Hampshire, he described the former president as a "lonely, self-consumed, self-serving, mirror hog."
But it was a very different story in Fort Worth in 2016, when Christie dropped out of the Republican primary and backed Trump. CBS News Texas spoke with both of them at the time.
When asked why he endorsed Trump, Christie told CBS News Texas, "Best man to lead America back to greatness."
Trump said, "To me, it's so significant. He's tops, absolutely top. The one person I wanted was Chris Christie."
Now, the latest Texas GOP primary poll by the conservative group Defending Texas Liberty PAC, shows Trump with a big lead at 47%.
DeSantis has 23%, and Pence, Scott and Haley are in the low single digits.
The poll questioned 1,020 likely voters between May 26-30.
Deen said, "It's too soon to take any one poll terribly seriously, but trend lines I think are telling. So, it is telling that former President Trump has this clear advantage."
National polls show Trump with a big lead as well. But it is still early.
The first Republican debate will be in late August and the first Republican presidential contest, the Iowa Caucus, isn't until early next year.
