Trump plans return to city in May

President to help raise funds for GOP hopefuls in midterm elections

AUSTIN — President Donald Trump is returning to Houston next month in a quest for cash to help Republicans defend their majorities in Congress.

Trump is scheduled to headline a May 14 fundraising luncheon at a location yet to be publicly disclosed. The fundraiser is to help Senate Republicans raise money for the 2018 midterms that have Republicans on defense trying to hold their majorities in the House and Senate.

The Washington Post, which first reported the event, said the invitation is requesting donors give up to $100,000 per couple to attend the event.

The event will essentially be in Sen. Ted Cruz’s backyard, but it’s less about helping him in his first re-election bid than it is about helping bolster GOP finances in battleground states like Florida, Missouri and Indiana, where Republicans are in major struggles that could determine control of the Senate.

Cruz is facing stiff opposition from Democrat Beto O’Rourke for re-election, but is considered the favorite in the race. Texas has three other Republican-held U.S. House seats that have become top targets

for Democrats as they seek to retake the majority in Congress. One of those seats is in Houston, where U.S. Rep. John Culberson is considered one of the top targets for Democrats in all of the United States.

Culberson is considered vulnerable partly because of how poorly Trump did in the Houston area in 2016. Despite winning the state, Trump lost Harris County to Hillary Clinton by 160,000 more votes than Republican nominee Mitt Romney lost to President Barack Obama in 2012.

And within the confines of Culberson’s 7th Congressional District, Clinton won 48.5 percent of the vote to 47 percent for Trump.

Republicans hold a 51 to 49 seat majority in the U.S. Senate. In the House, Republicans hold a 237 to 193 seat edge, with five seats vacant. Democrats are increasingly optimistic they can win the seats necessary to take control of the House, though the Senate represents a more difficult challenge. In a recent fundraising letter to supporters, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said the party needs to win two of three seats from Arizona, Nevada and Texas held by Republicans to retake the majority in the Senate.

Texas and more specifically Houston have become among the Republican Party’s most important fundraising hubs outside of the Washington, D.C., region and New York City. In 2016, the Houston metro area donated more than $44 million to federal campaigns and political action committees tied to Republicans. D.C., New York and Chicago were the only metro regions that contributed more to Republican politicians, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Trump’s fundraising run follows House Speaker Paul Ryan’s trip through Texas this month. Ryan’s political action committee touted raising more than $4 million during a four-day run through Texas before Ryan announced he is retiring from Congress.

Democrats, too, have made Houston a regular stop to bolster their cause. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have been in Houston for different events this year to raise money for the party and to motivate Texas Democrats. Schumer attended a private fundraiser near Hobby Airport in January to specifically help Democrats seeking re-election in Florida and Indiana. Pelosi was in Houston in February for the Harris County Democratic Party fundraiser.

jeremy.wallace@chron.com twitter.com/JeremySWallace