URL: https://www.ms.now/news/trump-texas-midterms-election-paxton-talarico-republicans-vote-manziel
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With one week remaining until Election Day, President Donald Trump is returning to Texas and leaning on football star power as Republicans try to mobilize their base for state Attorney General Ken Paxton in a fiercely competitive Senate race.

Trump is making his third visit to Texas in the past month on Tuesday, putting his endorsement power back under the spotlight. During the state primary, he helped oust incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn in favor of Paxton, the embattled attorney general.

The political stakes are matched by the staggering financial investment. More than $1 billion in overall advertising spending from both parties has already poured into Texas, with well over half of that money directed toward the Senate contest between Paxton and Democrat James Talarico.

That race is on pace to become the most expensive Senate contest in U.S. history. The latest polling average from MS NOW/FiftyPlusOne gives Talarico a narrow advantage over Paxton, 49.2% to 46.5%.

Trump’s latest Texas swing is another stop on his tour of red states during the campaign’s closing days. Republicans are seeking to drive their supporters to the polls as control of both the House and Senate hangs in the balance.

The president will be joined by former college football stars Johnny Manziel and Colt McCoy, both popular in Texas, according to a White House official. Danny Amendola, who has won two Super Bowls, is also expected to appear with Trump.

Axios was first to report that the former football players would join the president on the campaign trail. The lineup amounts to a direct appeal to supporters, particularly young men, as Republicans search for extra energy in the final week.

Trump is scheduled to make two stops, beginning with a rally in the southern coastal city of Corpus Christi. He will then travel to Lubbock in deeply conservative West Texas, where Republicans are looking to increase turnout.

Corpus Christi sits in Texas’ 34th Congressional District, one of a small number of districts nationwide that voted for Trump in the 2024 presidential election while also electing a Democrat to the House. That split has made the district a major Republican target.

A GOP strategist familiar with Republican thinking about the midterms described the district as “one of the best offensive opportunities for us in the entire country in the House.” The strategist was granted anonymity to discuss party strategy freely.

Republicans are trying to flip Democratic incumbent Vincent Gonzalez’ seat, while Democrats are working to defend it. According to data from advertising tracking firm AdImpact, those competing efforts have made it the most expensive House race in Texas.

As Trump travels from Corpus Christi to Lubbock, Talarico is scheduled to hold a community rally in the same city. His event will take place just a few miles from Trump’s appearance at about the same time.

“Lubbock is a chance for us to juice turnout in a red area,” the GOP strategist said. The strategist added that mobilizing “hardcore Trump supporters” in some of the reddest areas of red states has been a recurring theme of Trump’s closing campaign rallies.

“Texas is a state where the more people turn out, Dems don’t have the path to victory,” the strategist explained. Still, whether Trump’s support can carry Paxton across the finish line remains unresolved as the candidates enter the campaign’s final week.

Paxton also has major financial support from SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Last month, Musk contributed $158 million to a Senate GOP leadership super PAC, with the money set to be directed to another organization focused on helping Paxton.

That contribution made Musk the largest known Republican donor at the federal level during this election cycle. It followed another $10 million contribution Musk made in August to support Paxton, adding another enormous cash infusion to an already record setting Texas battle.