Beto O'Rourke packs venue for Corpus Christi town hall The Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate says Coastal Bend refineries can play a role in reducing emissions that contribute to climate change.

Show Caption Hide Caption Beto O'Rourke makes a stop in Corpus Christi Beto O'Rourke held a town hall in Corpus Christi. See what he and attendees had to say. Read More: https://bit.ly/2noWEJa

Before packing a Corpus Christi bingo and dance hall for a town hall meeting Wednesday evening, Democratic Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke vowed to protect the region's crucial petrochemical industry.

"I drove (to Corpus Christi) from Beeville in a Toyota Tundra that was manufactured in San Antonio, Texas, that burns gasoline," O'Rourke said in a Facebook Live interview with the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. "I want our oil and gas to come from this country, from this state.

"I don't think that is mutually exclusive to making sure we are generating our energy in a responsible way," he added.

The three-term El Paso congressman challenging Republican Ted Cruz's bid for a second term in the Nov. 6 election pushed back against the incumbent's oft-repeated assertion that he plans to chart a liberal course in the Senate even while representing one of the nation's most reliably conservative states.

O'Rourke said on issues like overhauling the criminal justice system and making plans to prepare for the next superstorm, it makes fiscal sense to spend comparatively little money in the near term to avoid crippling expenses later on.

"I'd like to invest in infrastructure. I'd like to invest in storm surge protection. I'd like to help communities hit by Hurricane Harvey rebuild," he said. "These are Texan fiscally conservative values."

He also said taking measures to counter what he called the warming of the planet does not mean doom for traditional energy sources.

"Our ability to live near the coast, our ability to grow our own food and fiber — all of that is being compromised by climate change. And yet, this is the state that's number one in the country in the generation of wind power. We soon could be number one in the generation of solar. We are producing natural gas, and we have a petrochemical industry and port here in Corpus Christi that could help us meet some of the challenges of climate change."

He talked about exporting NG to coal-burning countries like China and India where he said carbon emissions are exacerbating climate change.

"The employees of those refineries in these communities could help (meet) the energy needs of those two emerging economies."

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O'Rourke, who's giving up a safe seat representing El Paso, hosted a town hall-style meeting Wednesday evening at The Valencia in Corpus Christi

The venue on Ayers Street was full for the event. People stood around the edges of the peach and off-white room as they listened to the candidate address topics such as education, climate change, healthcare and veterans issues.

Many held yard signs, "BETO" sprawled across them in large block letters. Others wore shirts or hats that showed their support for the congressman.

"Beto," they cheered.

“I think for South Texas it would be an opportunity to have someone who truly represents us," said Velma Elizalde, who was sitting on the front row during the town hall. "That is willing to come and hear what people say and share his ideas."

"Going community to community is not an easy thing," the Beeville woman said. "It’s something that is…brand new for us. We haven’t participated in a town hall because frankly we’ve never really had any of our representatives go to this extent.”

O'Rourke arrived in the Coastal Bend region with the wind at his back after a series of recent polls show him within single digits of Cruz, who entered the race as a heavy favorite in one of the nation's most Republican states.

Before taking questions from crowdmembers, O'Rourke addressed the latest poll numbers.

"We are in contention for this," he told the crowd. "We can make up that ground. The momentum is only moving in one direction."

In recent campaign stops, the Cruz has acknowledged running behind the other GOP candidates on the statewide ticket and has taken to warning his supporters that O'Rourke could pull off an upset if the GOP turnout is sluggish in Texas.

This week, Cruz told the Houston Chronicle that he expects President Donald Trump to join him on the campaign trail in Texas. O'Rourke said a presidential visit would have little effect on his own plans, saying that Texans are capable of making up their own minds about who should represent them in the Senate.

Adam Benning of Corpus Christi — who posed a question to O'Rourke during the Q&A portion of the evening — said this was his first political event he has attended, and that as a young man who recently graduated from college, it was important to start hearing what politicians have to say.

He said the two are in line on policy, and he respects the congressman's resolve to not seek PAC dollars.

“I would be surprised to see Beto win, just because you don’t normally expect a politician with a D in their name to come from Texas, but I would definitely be impressed and I think it’s possible," he said.

During his stop at the Caller-Times, O'Rourke stood by his earlier assertions that Trump and his campaign in 2016 colluded with Russia to swing the election and the president's actions last month with the Russian leader in Helsinki are cause enough to bring impeachment charges.

"To have the president of our country stand on a stage with Vladimir Putin, and defend Putin instead of the American people and this democracy that has withstood attacks for 242 years and counting should be cause for concern," he said.

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After his Corpus Christi visit, O'Rourke is expected to head to Rockport, Goliad, Victoria and Katy.

"There's no stopping us in Texas, I'm confident of that, as long as we stay focused on the big, ambitious, aspirational work that we want to do, that we deserve, that we should be able to lead this country on," O'Rourke told the Caller-Times following the town hall.