This Texas midterm race has huge stakes, both for Donald Trump and the country
Republican Ken Paxton is struggling to hold state that hasn't sent Democrat to U.S. Senate since 1988
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that → have → 1988
In the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday, no race has more at stake than the battle to become the next senator for Texas.
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race → have → Texas
The contest between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico matters for Americans across the U.S., as the outcome could determine which party holds a majority in the Senate for the remainder of Donald Trump’s presidency.
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party → matter → presidency
"If we lose Texas, we're going to lose the country," Paxton has told the Republican faithful at numerous campaign rallies.
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Paxton → lose → rallies
The stakes are particularly significant for Trump, since all the reasons the Republicans risk losing in Texas trace directly back to him.
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Republicans → risk → him
Trump pointedly inserted himself into the Texas race from the start by endorsing the scandal-ridden Paxton to become the Republican candidate over long-serving incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.
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Trump → insert → Cornyn
Paxton's sketchy ethical record, sky-high prices for gas and diesel triggered by Trump's war on Iran and heavy-handed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tactics are all driving what appears to be a dramatic shift in voter sentiment.
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what → trigger → sentiment
No Texas Democrat has been elected to the U.S. Senate since 1988, the year before Talarico was born.
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Talarico → elect → 1988
Despite that history, and despite Trump carrying Texas by 13 percentage points just two years ago, polling averages suggest a Democrat win this time is a distinct possibility.
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win → carry → points
Paxton's campaign is based on low taxes, cracking down on illegal immigration and supporting Trump's agenda.
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campaign → base → agenda
Talarico's key themes include stopping cuts to health-care funding, imposing term limits on members of Congress and shifting the tax burden from the middle class to corporations and the wealthy.
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themes → include → corporations
'Most corrupt politician in Texas'
Both candidates have described the consequences of the election in monumental terms, frequently depicting their opponent as extreme.
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candidates → describe → opponent
The race "isn't just red versus blue," Paxton told a recent rally in the Dallas suburb of Allen.
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Paxton → tell → Allen
"It's the America our founders gave us versus something they would never recognize.”
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they → give → something
"Ken Paxton is everything that's wrong with our politics," countered Talarico later that same day at a rally in Fort Worth.
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Talarico → counter → Worth
"We are running against the most corrupt politician in Texas."
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We → run → Texas
The corruption cloud hanging over Paxton, the state's attorney general since 2015, includes a grand jury indictment for securities fraud and impeachment in the Texas House for abusing his office to help a political donor.
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cloud → hang → donor
(The fraud charge was eventually dropped after he struck a plea deal, and the Texas Senate declined to convict following his impeachment.)
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Senate → drop → impeachment
Voters attend a joint midterm election rally in Weslaco, Tex. on Oct. 25 for three Democratic Party candidates: James Talarico for the U.S. Senate, Bobby Pulido for the U.S. House and Gina Hinojosa for state governor.
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Voters → attend → governor
Paxton casts Talarico — a former teacher and Presbyterian seminarian who has served in the state legislature since 2019 — as a dangerous, leftist radical.
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who → cast → radical
"A vote for James Talarico is not just a vote for his radical agenda," Paxton told the Allen rally.
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Paxton → tell → rally
"It's a vote for every dangerous idea that Democrats across the country are putting forward right now.”
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Democrats → put → country
Paxton's backers go even further in their rhetoric.
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backers → go → rhetoric
'We cannot let evil win'
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evil → let → ?
Lydia Elizondo, the Republican running for district attorney in the South Texas county of Hidalgo County, introduced Paxton at a rally last week.
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Elizondo → run → rally
"We cannot let evil win," Elizondo told the crowd.
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Elizondo → let → crowd
"That evil has a name, and its name is James Talarico."
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name → have → name
One tangible sign of the high stakes: The Senate race in Texas is poised to become the single-most expensive non-presidential campaign in U.S. history.
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race → poise → history
Spending on advertising by the candidates, parties and corporate-funded political action committees since the Texas primaries began has surpassed $500 million US, according to data compiled by the firm AdImpact.
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primaries → spend → AdImpact
Much of that spending has been bankrolled by one rich Texas resident who also happens to be the wealthiest man on Earth.
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who → bankroll → Earth
Two of Elon Musk's political action committees have funneled more than $210 million US to help the Paxton campaign, according to election finance filings.
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Two → funnel → filings
The Musk-funded ads are primarily aimed at motivating Republicans to vote by invoking culture-war fears about the consequences of a Talarico win.
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ads → fund → win
One ad claims Talarico wants "taxpayer-funded sex-change surgeries on kids."
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Talarico → claim → kids
Another claims he backs "putting parents in jail if they do not support surgically transitioning their children."
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they → claim → children
Talarico has rejected the accusations as lies.
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Talarico → reject → lies
The Democrat has in turn made Musk's investments in the Paxton campaign part of his argument to voters.
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investments → make → voters
"Elon Musk is trying to buy this Senate seat," Talarico said as the Fort Worth crowd booed the name of the SpaceX and Tesla CEO.
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crowd → try → CEO
James Talarico, the Democrat candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, speaks at a campaign rally in Fort Worth on Oct. 19.
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Talarico → speak → Oct.
"But on November 3rd, we will deliver a crystal-clear message to the world's first trillionaire.
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we → deliver → trillionaire
We will let Elon Musk know that Texas is not for sale."
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Texas → let → sale
…and 32 more, not listed.
The Aporia
