Did Donald Trump Just Hand Texas to Democrats?
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-ken-paxton-john-cornyn-democrats-james-talarico-11994199
Did Donald Trump Just Hand Texas to Democrats?
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-ken-paxton-john-cornyn-democrats-james-talarico-11994199
45 Comments
Yes. Make sure to vote, anyways. Vote as if the fate of America rested in your hands. Because, it kind of *does*. The radical right is trying to destroy our country completely.
MAGA keeps doubling down as the rest of the country is increasingly against them.
Yes, yes they did.
It’s Talarico SZN in Texas
Ken Paxton is literally the last person I want to see become a freshman senator. Evil personified.
I’m not naive enough to think Texans won’t fall in line and vote Republican no matter what. Every year it’s the same thing. Is this the year Texas finally does the right thing!? And then they go vote for Trump in record numbers.
Nah. Expect them to just be their same MAGA selves.
Yeah I am reminded of Trump in the 2016 primary and look what happened. The fact people will vote for Paxton continues to make me wonder what has gone wrong in society.
Every election we go through this.
“Texas is turning blue, Texas is turning blue.”
And every election is doesn’t turn blue.
I look forward to Senator Talarico taking office in January.
Between now and then, I look forward to helping him get elected.
We can hope.
But then again, this is Texas, they like these objectively evil people.
Don’t ever assume shit like this. We’ve witnessed a lot crazier stuff happen over the last 10 years. A Republican, albeit an exceptionally terrible one, winning in the bloodred state of Texas isn’t too out of character for the state. I’m rooting for Talarico, but the race ain’t over until it’s over. Be in a voting booth when the general comes around.
Don’t say shit like that out loud!!! If the dems hear you, they’ll find a way to fuck it up.
No. Take nothing for granted.
Probably. It was under 3 points for a sitting Senator in 2018 and now the GOP has to defend a guy with no experience as a Senator or Governor.
Paxton, when winning his attorney general elections, consistently underperformed Abbott who won as governor.
I think Trump turned Texas into a dead heat. If he can’t end the Iran war by the midterms, Paxton loses.
I wouldn’t go nearly that far but he certainly handed them an actual chance to do it, which is incredible.
And while Paxton is corrupt as shit I don’t think his voting record would be substantially different than Cornyn so to me it’s a wash.
All hail the electorally vulnerable crook!
No… the amount of times we have heard “Trump is going to lose” is insane for the amount of times he and his constituents have prevailed
Ken Paxton won his last statewide race so it is stupid to think he might not win again.
I will vote for Talarico, hopefully my fellow Texans will vote for a preacher over a criminal.
Not really. Republicans have shown that they do not care about pedophilia. Thomas Massie’s defeat in Kentucky proves that.
Now, will it encourage more democrats to show up and vote this time? That remains to be seen, but I don’t see anything changing.
Donate your time, money or voice to James Talarico in any way you can; every little bit helps.
I’m wondering if people aren’t finally starting to feel embarrassed to admit that the GOP were never good at governing, not just the country, but the states too.
I don’t know if Talrico can win Texas, but I know Paxton can lose it.
If texas goes blue i’ll eat my nasty work socks.
No. Never assume any candidate can lose. This is Texas, it’s going to be a very difficult race for Tallarico. Paxton is admittedly the nightmare candidate though.
No. Vote.
Talarico will be my first vote FOR someone instead of AGAINST someone else since I became a US Citizen.
And this says a lot when you have someone like Ken Scandal Paxton on the other side.
Talarico is the real deal! He is the right person at right time and place. Prepare to vote! Get out to vote! Get others to vote! Let’s fucking do this!
Only if Texas Democrats show up. As a Floridan please show up to vote. If my state party is disorganized, at least have your guys win.
Stop with these headlines. No party outside of MAGA deserves to be smug right now.
Everyone should be voting like they’re gonna lose, because the current track record is heavily in MAGA’s favor.
They say this every year. Texas is going blue! Nah we still dumb af here.
Assuming Paxton cannot win is a major mistake
That fucker just intervened in a CSAM case where an attorney in Amarillo abused his son’s best friend for THREE years.
Paxton made sure he didn’t have to register as a sex offender, got a 60 day sentence, and was out in 30.
You can’t call yourself a defender of families and pull that shit.
I think people are strongly underestimating (or misunderestimating since it’s Texas) the hate that runs through Texas Republicans’ veins. Trump didn’t hand Democrats anything, and this is all assuming there will be a fair election without votes from certain districts just being discarded. Democrats still need to work very hard if they ever want to flip Texas, and even then it’ll be an uphill battle.
Nope. Trump endorsed Paxton because he’s crooked enough to claim he wins whether he does or not against Talarico and then, as the current AG, he has all the legal power to sue, “investigate,” and discard unfavorable ballots.
We’ll see.
Oh wow Texas, you have a chance to elect Talarico. That guy is flat out the most compelling Democrat I’ve seen in years. You could be boosting this guy on the way to the top, and we need people like him in charge.
In this age it’s so difficult to reach out and make human connection like he does without aggression. He appeals to the soul, and I’m not a religious guy at all.
Paxton will be overseeing his own election and can fall back on the governor, the President, *and* the Supreme Court to protect any illegal activity. Which is exactly what they will likely do.
Cornyn was a 5 time incumbent.. He’s held that seat for decades and was entirely sycophantic for Trump up to and including trying to name a highway after him a few weeks ago..
Instead the conservatives in the state chose to elect a guy who was impeached by the Republican controlled house for trading political favors for jobs for his mistress, who was indicted for securities fraud, and who JUST A COUPLE WEEKS AGO intervened in the case of a chronic child sex offender and got his sentence reduced from potentially life in prison without parole to… 30 days in jail, no registration, and a 5 year restriction on practicing law…
And they voted for him 65-35.. If there was ever a question of whether conservatives have any morality left, pretty sure they answered it tonight.
Oh and btw, if Paxton wins Texans will likely be on the hook for the $6.8 million settlement awarded to workers in his own office after they filed a whistleblower lawsuit against him..
Paxton is going to alienate a lot of voters.
He’s been involved in numerous scandals and has a record of fraud, bribery, corruption, graft, grand jury weaponization, and adultery of course
Eight of his closest aides reported him to the FBI in 2020 for abusing his office.
He was also impeached by his own party on 20 counts of abuse of power.
Do you know how corrupt you have to be to get impeached by Texas Republicans as a slavishly pro Trump Republican?
The whole thing is baffling.
But I shouldn’t complain because Talarico has a better chance of defeating a scumbag like Paxton. The two couldn’t be farther apart in terms of their integrity, their ethics, their Christian values, and their very accordance with the law.
Meanwhile, all Republicans have on Talarico is this culture war bullshit.
Talarico’s faith is a huge selling point for him. He’s a better representation of Christianity than Paxton ASSUREDLY, as well as all the religious fanatics on the right who personify the antithesis of Christianity and its most basic principles.
Talarico went to seminary school but still believes strongly in the separation of church and state, and criticizes all forms of state sponsored religion. He chooses the constitution over religious extremism.
He also calls out the religious right on their hypocrisy constantly, says in so few words that Jesus advocated for the sick, the needy, the poor, etc, and contextualizes the lessons of Jesus as a guide on how to be more tolerant, respectful, and accommodating towards foreigners and all marginalized groups.
As a political candidate, he’s a pretty rare example of consistent Christian values.
With Talarico’s message about the class conflict and culture wars, his genuine religious background, his inclusivity and populist appeal, he has a REAL opportunity to win against a candidate like Paxton who is unimaginably corrupt and defies every aspect of Christianity
Talarico is a pioneering candidate and has an increasingly better chance of winning in this current climate.
Talarico’s primary win in Texas was lifted by Latino voters.
Trump has lost support among Latinos and then some since the 2024 election. Hmm, I wonder why?
The big difference is he sees Christian ethics and progressivism as compatible. As opposed to how many “Christians” on the right see religion and ideologies of white nationalism as consistent with one another.
This election is winnable. Especially if voter turnout hits even close to record highs as it did for the Democratic primary. Not a good sign for Republicans.
Talarico supports equality and inclusivity for marginalized and vulnerable groups, a notion that no doubt enrages MAGA conservatives for some God forsaken reason.
He pushes back against religious arguments that discriminate against these communities of people.
Talarico supports public education, social programs and opposes school privatization, which fractures our education system and unfairly punishes poor and underprivileged students.
Talarico supports structural reforms, voting rights, criticizes billionaires and their influence over our elections, and frames the culture wars as a distraction from a larger class conflict.
The GOP is terrified of candidates like Talarico, alarmed by his populist-progressive appeal and his sincerity, haunted by the idea that they could lose to someone who represents the interests of most constituents for once.
As opposed to someone like Donald Trump, who is and always has been an out of touch grifter, pathological liar and faux populist demagogue who appeals to the worst of us.
Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t Texas rank higher in metrics when Democrats like Ann Richards ran the state?
Cornyn really lost. Cornyn, Massie and Cassidy should stop slobbering on the boots. Work for the constituents they represent.
Talarico and team need to be out getting people registered to vote and to the polls.
I’ll just say this: in 2016 I was praying for Trump to win the Republican nomination, because I figured there was no way more than, say, 15% of the electorate would be stupid enough to vote for this clown.
We all know how that turned out, sadly. Never underestimate the stupidity of Texas Republicans!
I see everyone is underestimating the stupidity of Texas MAGA. Ken Paxton is a cockroach, bringing him down won’t be easy.
lol no
Dems will manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Also all the ”establishment” republicans will fall in line and vote for that fuckwit
Knowing Texans, no
Democrats: don’t believe the bullshit. Go fucking vote. Our lives depend on it.
All of this omits any discussion of the vast voter suppression going on in Texas, against Democrats
Nope. None of this. Vote Talarico as if YOUR vote means the race. This is NOT the time to get cozy or laugh or look at how much we are gonna win this race by.
You show up to Election Day with as many people as you know and VOTE. I don’t care if Jesus himself floats down from heaven and tells you “Worry not, my child. Paxton will not triumph”. You tell him “Forgive me lord, but I’ll stop worrying after Election Day when the votes are in”
This was the matchup my family wanted. We live next door to James’ district, and my now 24-year-old daughter interned for James’ first campaign the summer she was 16. We literally have been waiting for this kind of a national moment for 8 years!