Republican U.S. Senate nominee Ken Paxton brought his campaign bus to Allen on Monday as early voting opened, and told supporters at Matt's Rancho Martinez restaurant that the stakes of his race reach well beyond Texas.
"If we lose Texas, we're going to lose the country, and that's what we're fighting for," Paxton told the crowd, according to The Dallas Morning News. C-SPAN also carried the stop.
Paxton, the state's attorney general, faces Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in a contest that polls show is close; Libertarian Ted Brown is also on the ballot. Texas voters have not sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1988.
What Paxton said
Paxton argued that the environmental policies Talarico supports would damage the oil and gas industry, and he accused his opponent of being at odds with Texans on transgender issues, the News reported. He also warned that a Talarico victory could hand Democrats the Senate majority and put President Donald Trump's agenda at risk.
"A vote for James Talarico is not just a vote for his radical agenda, it is a vote for Chuck Schumer to run the Senate," Paxton said.
State Rep. Mitch Little, a Lewisville Republican who is also Paxton's lawyer, called it "an existential election" and told supporters that control of the Senate would shape future Supreme Court appointments.
Talarico has said he voted for a 2023 Texas House amendment barring gender-affirming surgeries for minors, voted against the final bill because it also limited other care, and would back a nationwide ban on those surgeries for minors, according to the News.
