Trump to NRA: 'Your second Amendment rights are under siege'
OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - President Trump pledged his support to members at the NRA convention in Dallas Friday.
"Your Second Amendment rights are under siege. They will never ever be under siege as long as I am your President," said President Trump.
The President received a standing ovation during his speech, with a play to his base that came with a plea.
"Get out and vote. Don't be complacent. Don't be complacent," said President Trump.
He called on Republicans to mobilize for the mid-term elections in November. At stake is control of Congress with all 435 seats in the House and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested.
President Trump reminded his base that Democrats are working to win.
"They're fighting like hell and you're complacent. We cannot get complacent. We have to win the midterms," said Trump.
"I think there is some difference right now in terms of intensity. And I think probably the best evidence of that is what's happened in special elections around the country," said Robert Van Houweling, an Asst. Professor in the UC Berkeley Political Science Department, "The Democrats are very motivated. They're turning out and Republicans are not as attentive or motivated."
Van Houweling says President Trump will likely be a polarizing force in the midterms..
"Trump's unpopularity will be a big factor in the election, but it's not that he's different than other presidents," said Houweling, "We can think to Clinton's first mid-tern with the Democrats losing the majority they held for almost half a century in the House. We can think about Bush's midterms after his re-election when the Republicans lost what was though to be an unassailable majority in the House."
There was also the Tea Party conservative grassroots movement that helped Republicans gain control of Congress during President Obama's tenure.
Democratic groups in the Bay Area have been calling voters in swing states with monthly phone banks, writing postcards, emails. and text messages.
"We've been doing a lot of voter registration we've been doing canvassing." said Jackie Moreau, who founded the group Commit to Flip Blue, which has about 7500 followers.
"We need 23 seats to flip the House of Representatives. So we need 23 seats and 14 of those 23 are here in California," said Moreau.
Republicans are also motivated to get out the vote for the midterm elections, a topic Friday at the California GOP convention in San Diego
"If 2016 election has taught us anything it is that we should never take anything for granted and we should never trust the polls. 1453 but what is also taught us is that Americans want something other than the 8 years under Barak Obam," said Jason Clark, Chair of the San Francisco Republican Party.
Van Houweling says Democrats will have a tough road ahead.
"They're really playing defense in the Senate. If they win the Senate, I think that will indicate they had a wave of support," said Van Houweling, "In the House it's much more likely they'll be successful. A lot of Republican incumbents have retired so there's no advantage of incumbency."