Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is downplaying fears that Democrats could flip the Lone Star State blue this year and, with it, seize control of the U.S. Senate.
In an interview with ABC News, Jonathan Karl pressed the three-term governor on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s fundraising woes and whether his political baggage could cost Republicans the must-win U.S. Senate race against Democrat James Talarico.
“So, I’ve heard from Republicans, Texas Republicans, who have real concerns about Ken Paxton, the nominee for Senate or for your party. They say he’s not working hard enough. He’s not raising money. He’s got too much baggage. Do you share some of those concerns?” Karl asked Abbott.
“Well, let’s put it in context where Ken Paxton is in his campaign, and that is he was in a three-month-long runoff that demanded capital, it demanded campaigning, demanded his attention, and so he’s just now catching up in the campaign process with Talarico,” Abbott said, adding, “Talarico got away with something, and that is with Ken Paxton campaigning against John Cornyn as opposed to Talarico.”
The Senate GOP’s fundraising arms continue to withhold money from Paxton’s campaign after President Donald Trump led the effort to oust incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn. Since then, Talarico has dominated the airwaves while Paxton has struggled to raise money in one of the nation’s largest and most expensive states for statewide campaigns. The RealClearPolitics polling average gives Talarico a narrow one-point advantage.
“In that runoff, John Cornyn said he was the kiss of death for Republicans and for the Republican ticket in 2026, that he would be an albatross on the party. He said if he’s the nominee, we could well experience a massacre and the first Democrat elected statewide,” Karl pressed Abbott.
The Texas governor, who is running for a fourth term, downplayed those concerns, arguing that elections “are about choices.”
“And when voters go to make a choice on November the 3rd, the contrast they will see between Ken Paxton and James Talarico is so extraordinary. That choice is going to be easy. And they’ll be voting for Ken Paxton, and they’ll be voting against James Talarico,” Abbott said.
Paxton holds his strongest advantage among white voters and men, while Talarico leads among most black and Hispanic voters, according to one survey. Talarico held just a one-point advantage among women after facing backlash over his views on Christianity, “love” for transgender children, and disdain for the American flag.
Top issues for Texas voters include the economy (30%), immigration (19%), threats to democracy (14%), and healthcare (13%), according to the Emerson College poll. Republican voters rank immigration as their top issue (32%), while Democrats (33%) and independents (31%) rate the economy as their top concern.
Those issues have not stopped either campaign from diving into hot-button cultural issues as both sides wage a fierce battle for Christian voters who will likely play a pivotal role in November. The Daily Wire earlier this week uncovered the Democrat hopeful calling God ‘not Christian’ and comparing evangelism to forcing alcohol on young children.
“Christians and Muslims and Jews all worship the same God,” Talarico is caught saying in an unearthed video. “Muslims love Jesus… We are all branches on the same tree.”
The Cook Political Report ranks the race as a toss-up.
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