Trump Visits Texas to Support Ken Paxton’s Senate Bid

The Texas Tribune

HOUSTON, TX — With early voting less than two months away, President Donald Trump appeared in Houston on Thursday to inject momentum and some much-needed cash in the U.S. Senate campaign of Republican Ken Paxton, his close ally who is in a tight race with Democrat James Talarico.

Trump’s first appearance for Paxton’s campaign comes in a week when ad spending by Republicans for the state’s attorney general surpassed his Democratic opponent’s for the first time. 

The president, who upon deplaning was closely followed by Bill Pulte, the director of U.S. Federal Housing, was greeted by U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Woodville, on the Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base tarmac. The president waved to fans who chanted his name and USA before leaving for a Republican National Committee fundraising event, where he is expected to be a keynote speaker rallying support behind the Republican nominee.

Trump was expected to headline a Republican National Committee fundraising event Thursday evening during his overnight stay in Houston. On Friday, the president is expected to honor members of the Artemis II lunar flyby crew at the Johnson Space Center.

The focus of his visit, however, appears to be an attempt to jumpstart the campaign of one of the president’s staunchest allies. Before departing for Texas, Trump told reporters in Washington, D.C., that he planned to spend more time in the state to help Paxton. 

“We’re working very hard. We want to win that race,” Trump said.

The president’s assistance arrives as Talarico is shown to have an edge in recent polls. 

Meanwhile, Talarico unveiled his plan to break up “Big Medicine,” endorsed by Texas businessman and entrepreneur Mark Cuban, on Thursday. Talarico and Cuban will appear together in Fort Worth on Saturday for a live conversation moderated by political strategist and Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov as the Democratic candidate tries to keep up his positive momentum.

Republican strategists have previously cautioned that Democrats’ polling is typically strongest in the summer, and that they expect those numbers to shift once Paxton or his allies begin attacking Talarico on television.

As of last week, Talarico has spent over $25 million on advertising since Paxton secured the GOP nomination in late May, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact — with nearly $10.7 million deployed on broadcast and an additional $8.4 million on streaming devices, according to previous reporting. 

Over that same time period, the Paxton campaign has spent $119,000 — nearly all of it on digital advertising — meaning that Talarico has essentially had the airwaves to himself. Over that time, he’s built a narrow polling lead in numerous polls within the margin of error. 

However, momentum shifted in the week of Aug. 25, with Republicans spending $3,076,372 on ad buys, outpacing the Democrats’ $2,543,647.

On Fox News recently, Paxton laid out his timeline for campaign spending, saying he expects that litigating Talarico’s record will cement the Democrat’s loss.