Three names were on everyone’s lips at the Latinos United for Conservative Action event hosted by Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Trustee Tammy Nakamura: Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, and Robert Kennedy Jr.
The Day of Action was meant to train door-knockers and activists to effectively turn out the vote for Cruz and Trump. The first speaker was DX staff writer Carlos Turcios of Latinos United for Conservative Action (LUCA) who made introductions and greeted attendees. Then the pastor of Mercy Culture Church, Rep. Nate Schatzline (R-Fort Worth), opened with a few remarks, saying, “It’s unheard of to see a group together like this before Labor Day [when presidential campaigns usually intensify].”
Then he led everyone in a prayer for “truth and common sense” and for “God to truly reign in this government once again.”
Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Bo French was next to speak. He laid out his vision by first stating what he did not want to see in Fort Worth and what should motivate each activist present.
“Dallas County is already gone. Good luck [Dallas County Republican Party Chairman] Allen West,” he said.
“We are trying to prevent that here,” French added. “My goal is to energize Republican voters … [and also] people who are conservatively minded but maybe haven’t voted since 2016.”
French then updated the party faithful on the change of party headquarters and several new voter outreach efforts. He framed his calls to action in grave terms.
“The communists are not at the gate, they’re in the house,” he said as he condemned left-wing DEI and pro-transgender policies, which he characterized as racist and Marxist.
At one point, he riffed off Trump’s rally in Arizona, which took place the day after the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
“Can you believe the marketing genius of Donald Trump to come in at the end of the Democrat disaster with RFK Jr.?” he asked those in attendance.
Kennedy joined Trump in Glendale, Arizona, just hours after suspending his own presidential campaign and endorsing the former president.
Rosalie Escobedo also spoke. The Citizens Defending Freedom member and attorney gave her words a spiritual verve.
“We are in a natural war and a spiritual war,” she said.
“That’s right,” Schatzline interjected.
She called upon attendees to “represent the love of Christ” when they go to knock on doors, and her words were well received.
Then a representative for Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign spoke and gave practical tips on door-knocking, like remembering to constantly synchronize the voter outreach app and maximizing the time spent with potential voters.
Republican Texas House candidate David Lowe came in toward the end of the event and spoke briefly.
“If we don’t save Texas, we’ll lose it forever,” he said.
Conversations after the speeches largely focused on RFK Jr. One such example came in the form of several door-knockers asking Nakamura if they should highlight RFK Jr.’s endorsement of Trump during their outreach efforts. She answered in the affirmative and noted how impressed she was with Kennedy’s policies looking to “[restore the] health of our kids.”
This echoed both Kennedy’s withdrawal speech and Trump’s speech with Kennedy in Arizona, where both men spoke about the need to end the chronic disease epidemic in American children.
Regarding the state of the Texas Republican Party ahead of the November general election, she said, “It is amazing. We’ve got to work hard and not like we are entitled to a win. We’ve got to win.”
Escobedo spoke in a similar manner to DX. “The ground [game] is on fire,” she said. “We will win.”
Regarding the Kennedy endorsement, she said she thought it would bring “a lot of JFK Dems” into the Republican coalition.
French concurred, stating, “Swing state polling shows a majority of RFK voters will go to Trump and move those states to him.”
Lowe refused to answer questions about the upcoming election asked by The Dallas Express.