Trump heads to Texas to rescue Ken Paxton as prez prepares to go all-in on midterms
WASHINGTON — President Trump heads to Texas on Thursday to try and bail out Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who’s trailing Democrat James Talarico in the polls and in fundraising.The president is doubling down on his support for his candidate, attending a fundraiser to boost GOP coffers.Trump endorsed Paxton in the Republican primary over longtime Republican Sen.
John Cornyn.Paxton had close to $2 million in his campaign account at the end of June while Talarico had about $21 million.Several recent polls have shown Talarico with a slim lead in the race, including a recent one from the University of Texas and Texas Politics Project, which showed Paxton had 39% support compared to Talarico’s 42%.But 14% of voters were still undecided, leaving the race wide open.Trump won Texas by 11 points in the 2024 contest over Democrat Kamala Harris.
The president has painted Talarico as an out-of-step vegan in the cattle-heavy state of Texas (which the Democrat denies) and tried to tie him to the radical left-wing of the party.But Talarico is countering with a message of Christian faith and grass-roots populism to try and win over voters.Democrats see the contest as crucial to winning back control of the Senate in the November midterm election and they have long dreamed of flipping one of those red seats blue.
But the party hasn’t held a Senate seat in the state since 1993. The nonpartisan Cook Report rates the race a “tossup.” The last time a Texas Senate race was in that competitive category was in 2018 when Democratic Beto O’Rourke took on Republican Sen.Ted Cruz.
Cruz eked out a win by about 2.5 percentage points.Democrats hope past scandals of Paxton’s will help them win this time.Paxton, the state attorney general, was indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015 before coming to a deal.
He survived an impeachment effort in 2023 over allegations that he obstructed justice in that securities fraud case.And his former wife, Angela Allen, divorc...