Trump heads to Texas to bolster Ken Paxton's sputtering Senate campaign

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Aug 28, 2026

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AUSTIN, Dallas – President Donald Trump Friday headed deep into the heart of Texas in an effort to bolster Ken Paxton’s sputtering Senate campaign that is crucial to Republican efforts to hold Congress.

Trump was set to visit the NASA headquarters and call astronauts at the International Space Station but his main mission was to deliver a much-needed fundraising pitch for Paxton, who is far behind in the money race and is trailing in polls to Democratic rising star James Talarico.

“I’m going to help Ken Paxton, and I’m going to spend a lot of time in Texas,” Trump told reporters as he jetted into the biggest red state of them all.

Trump also trashed Paxton’s Democratic rival as an out-of-touch liberal “Tal-a-freak-o,” an attack that Paxton has so far not had the resources to air widely in the sprawling state.

There’s little doubt Paxton’s campaign can use some helping.

After a divisive GOP primary win over longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, Paxton has struggled mightily to raise money for the very expensive contest. Meanwhile Talarico has proven himself as a fundraising juggernaut and has already spent millions on TV and digital ads to introduce himself to Texans.

Several recent polls show Talarico with a modest lead, although most analysts on both sides still believe the Republican is favored in a state where Democrats haven’t won a statewide race in three decades.

Paxton has so far failed to hold large campaign events and is ducking debates. Meanwhile, Talarico is barnstorming the state, slamming Republicans mostly on kitchen table issues like stubborn inflation and the price of gas that has skyrocketed due to Trump’s war with Iran.

Democrats need to flip four Republican-held seats like the one in Texas to retake control of the Senate in the fall midterms. That once-improbable goal is now considered a virtual toss up as other red states like Alaska, Ohio and Iowa are also in play, along with swing states North Carolina and Maine.

Texas is also giving House Republicans headaches. Polls show Latino voters swinging sharply back to Democrats after voting for Trump in 2024, especially in the Rio Grande Valley where at least three congressional seats are also leaning Democratic despite the GOP’s redistricting gambit that was designed to flip them red.

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