In Uvalde, families grieve. In Houston, 300 miles across Texas, the NRA holds its annual convention

The nation’s largest gun-rights group had seemed on its last legs. Leaders of the National Rifle Association were accused of using its funds to pay for car services, private jets to the Caribbean and other personal travel. The New York attorney general filed suit to shut it down.

The organization filed bankruptcy. One gun control group said it had become a "shell of the juggernaut that once held dangerous sway." Another proclaimed last year that the NRA was “broken,” its leaders “on borrowed time.”

But this week, even as a gunman mowed down 19 fourth graders and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, the NRA is drawing A-list politicians to its annual convention 300 miles away in Houston.

Former President Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott had been scheduled to speak Friday at a leadership forum set to kick off the gathering, according to the NRA web site.

Abbott's office announced Thursday evening that he would no longer attend the NRA conference in person but would go to Uvalde instead. He will appear at the conference via a video recording, said his spokeswoman Renae Eze.

Cruz said he would still attend the conference in Houston.

“The entire state of Texas, the entire country, are grieving horrifically,” Cruz told NBC after the shooting in Texas Tuesday.

“I’m going to be there because what Democrats and the press try to do in the wake of every mass shooting is they try to demonize law-abiding gun owners, try to demonize the NRA,” the senator told the CBS affiliate in Dallas.

►A 'gun celebration': After massacre in Uvalde, NRA convention capitalizes on tragedy, critics say

The NRA and the Republican base

The shooter in Uvalde recently bought two AR-15 style rifles and 375 rounds of 5.56 ammunition and carried seven 30-round magazines into Robb Elementary School, according to law enforcement officials. He purchased them around his 18th birthday May 16.

The NRA, which has opposed banning such rifles, said Wednesday that the group's "deepest sympathies are with the families and victims involved in this horrific and evil crime."

"Although an investigation is underway and facts are still emerging, we recognize this was the act of a lone, deranged criminal," the NRA said in a statement posted to its convention web site. "As we gather in Houston, we will reflect on these events, pray for the victims, recognize our patriotic members, and pledge to redouble our commitment to making our schools secure."

Analysts said that when it comes to a political cost-benefit analysis, for the A-list speakers, it still makes sense to attend the convention, despite the tragic shooting.

"Not a surprise that some of the Republicans who are potentially running for president will speak to them," GOP political consultant Doug Heye said. "Their voters are an important part of the Republican base."

The gun lobby and the GOP

The NRA, which boasts more than 5 million members, has built a reputation as the fiercest gun rights advocate in the country since its incorporation in 1871. It has also asserted itself as a major force in national politics and government. Its lobbying group has helped thwart moves to implement gun restrictions after mass shootings at schools in Columbine, Colorado in 1999; Newtown, Connecticut in 2012; and Parkland, Florida in 2018, among others.

But in 2018, an internal power struggle and money woes threatened to decimate the organization.  The turmoil spilled into public view in a faceoff between longtime NRA leader Wayne LaPierre and then-president Oliver North that ended with North's ouster in 2019. A civil suit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James alleged an array of wrongdoing and self-dealing. A New York judge earlier this year allowed the case to proceed.

Despite its legal problems, the NRA remains a player within the overall gun lobby, and the gun lobby has been powerful in Republican politics for decades.

Gun groups have increased their spending on lobbying legislators in recent years, amid stepped-up calls for gun control in the wake of school shootings.

The organization Open Secrets reported this month that "powerful gun rights groups including the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Gun Owners of America have poured millions into lobbying, campaign contributions and outside spending to advocate for the right to bear arms."

Gun groups spent a record $15.8 million on lobbying in 2021, Open Secrets reported, and another $2 million in the first quarter of 2022.

Open Secrets noted that the NRA in particular "significantly decreased its political spending in the years leading up to its 2021 bankruptcy claim, though it still spent $29.3 million during the 2020 election cycle. That was down from $54.4 million from the presidential election of 2016.

Matt Grossmann, a political scientist at Michigan State University who has studied the NRA, said its organizational structure and money have always been less important than the many voters it has enlisted over the years.

"It's about the constituency that they have built," Grossmann said. "That constituency is very important in national politics and in Republican politics."

'Welcome to Texas'

A few prominent speakers have pulled out of the convention this weekend. Texas Sen. John Cornyn will no longer attend because of an "unexpected change" in his schedule, local television station WFAA reported.

U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Houston had been scheduled to appear but switched plans, citing scheduling conflicts before Monday's shooting.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said some people want the city to cancel the meeting, but Turner said the city can’t break the contract with the NRA. He questioned why Texas politicians still plan to speak there after the shooting in Uvalde.

“So, it’s not about us canceling the convention,” Turner said. “It’s about elected officials at the highest level in our state going and speaking and endorsing those policies, and that’s wrong. And you can’t pray and send condolences on one day and then be going and championing guns on the next. That’s wrong.”

Among many Texas Republican candidates and elected leaders, the NRA's support is often coveted and reciprocated. Soon after he was elected to the U.S. Senate but before he became a national figure, Ted Cruz basked in the adulation of members when he spoke to its national convention, where he was greeted by rousing standing ovation.

When the organization, as part of its 2021 bankruptcy plan, announced it would restructure itself as a Texas nonprofit, Cruz tweeted, "Welcome to Texas!" In a video message, he said, "We are thrilled to have the great National Rifle Association coming to the great state of Texas."

Also slated to attend the gathering in Houston is Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Trump promised that he will be delivering “an important address to America” at the gathering, claiming the country needs “real leadership in this moment,” according to a Washington Examiner reporter screenshot of his comments.

“In the meantime, we all continue to pray for the victims, their families, and for our entire nation—we are all in this together!”

Contributing: John Moritz, Corpus Christi Caller-Times

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NRA holds annual convention in Houston, across state from Uvalde