Rick Jervis

USA TODAY

AUSTIN — Donald Trump has messed with Texas, starting clashes with high-profile Lone Star State figures throughout the 2016 campaign, most notably the Bush family and Sen. Ted Cruz.

Former presidents George W. Bush (also a former Texas governor) and George H.W. Bush boycotted last month's GOP convention, as did native Texan Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor who was the target of some of Trump's sharpest jabs during the Republican primary campaign.

Meanwhile, Cruz, runner-up in the primary, caused an uproar by refusing to directly support the candidate during his convention speech.

None of that bad blood, however, seemed to slow the more than 9,000 Trump supporters who filled a rodeo arena here Tuesday for a Trump rally. They came from Austin, Dallas, Fredericksburg and other corners of the state — many of them Cruz or Bush backers — wearing “Make America Great Again” baseball caps or “Hillary for Prison” T-shirts. Fire officials had to close the doors and turn away supporters before the candidate even took the podium.

“We’re Republicans first,” said Aaron Paxton, 28, of Austin, pulling on a “Donald Trump” T-shirt as he headed to the rally. “I don’t think what happened in the past has an impact at all.”

Trump’s popularity in Texas — even in a place as Democratic and progressive as Travis County — underscores the candidate’s star power and ability to garner support in places where he may have previously bruised feelings, especially in a traditionally red state leery of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

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His visit to Austin came on the heels of a poll that shows him with a tighter lead over Clinton than would typically be expected of the GOP presidential nominee in Texas. The left-leaning Public Policy Polling firm released a survey last week showing the real estate mogul with a 6-point lead over Clinton, 44%-38%, raising some questions as to Trump’s prowess in the state. Mitt Romney beat President Obama here in 2012 by nearly 16 percentage points, while John McCain defeated Obama by about 12 in 2008.

Still, Texas Republicans have grown increasingly closer to the Trump effort. Former governor Rick Perry and current Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have been vocal Trump supporters, as have state Republican Party officials.

Texas’ grudging embrace of Trump was summed up earlier this month when Land Commissioner George P. Bush, Jeb Bush’s son and scion of the Bush family, urged activists to get involved and support the Republican candidate.

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"From Team Bush, it's a bitter pill to swallow,” George P. Bush told the room full of GOP activists. “But you know what? You get back up and you help the man that won, and you make sure that we stop Hillary Clinton."

The Bushes are less popular here today than they were a decade ago, said Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Cruz gained the backing of a lot of Texas Republicans by calling out Trump's “New York values” and suggesting during the primaries he wasn’t conservative enough.

But the real issue fueling Republicans here are not Bush or Cruz but the specter of Trump’s Democratic opponent, Jillson said. “[Trump] is more conservative than Hillary and that’s all they really care about,” he said.

Ron Militello, 62, an entrepreneur from the Austin suburb of Leander, said his support of Trump has sparked heated debates with family members — all fellow Republicans — who find Trump offensive and refuse to vote for him.

He said he would like to see Trump tone down the name-calling, but he still supports him. On Tuesday, Militello waited in line with several hundred others for a chance to watch a town hall event with Trump and Fox News personality Sean Hannity inside the Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Anti-Trump protesters gathered outside the theater but were outnumbered by Trump enthusiasts.

“He’s not perfect,” Militello said. “But if we don’t unite behind him, we get Hillary.”

Ray Kresha, a retired school counselor from Austin, was a Cruz supporter through the primaries. On Tuesday evening, he donned a Trump baseball cap and pin and joined the thousands entering Luedecke Arena for the rally.

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He preferred Cruz’s stances on issues and his discipline to stay on message. But given the choice between Trump and Clinton, he’s backing the GOP candidate.

“Who knows what’s going to happen,” Kresha said. “There’s a certain amount of uncertainty, but that’s OK. We live in an uncertain world.”

Inside Luedecke Arena (home of Rodeo Austin), supporters waved “Make America Great Again” signs or draped themselves with Trump-Pence flags, as they waited for the GOP nominee to emerge. Over loudspeakers, an emcee reminded supporters to “Please not touch or harm any protesters … This is a peaceful gathering.”

Dana McGill and Debbie Ellis, both 67 and identical twins, were among the attendees. They were dressed in matching red polo shirts emblazoned with “TRUMP USA” on the front and “TEXAS TWINS FOR TRUMP” on the back.

Trump’s past tangles with Texas politicos never factored in to their support for the candidate, said Ellis, of Fredericksburg, Texas. Issues like stopping illegal immigration and bringing jobs back to America are much more important, she said.

“Everything Trump stands for, I agree with,” Ellis said. “He’s going to be our next president.”