Vice President JD Vance will headline a midterm rally Wednesday afternoon in south Texas to help Republican candidate Eric Flores in his race against Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) over the state’s 34th Congressional District.
Republicans are in a tight battle to retain control of the House and Senate as Democrats hope to ride a wave of voter frustration with the economy back to power. President Donald Trump won the 34th District, which sits in the southernmost part of the state and stretches from Corpus Christi to Harlingen, by double digits in 2024 following a round of redistricting that made the seat substantially more conservative-leaning. But two years later, the Cook Political Report rates the seat as a toss-up.
It is unclear whether Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican Senate nominee, will appear at the rally with Vance. His campaign did not respond to a Washington Examiner request for comment.
Vance’s visit on Wednesday is another sign that he is increasingly taking a bigger role in campaigning across the nation.
Matt Mackowiak, a Texas-based GOP strategist, told the Washington Examiner that the vice president’s visit will boost morale among the base, although it’s uncertain if it will help Paxton.
“What’s clear right now is Republican enthusiasm is lower than Democratic enthusiasm,” Mackowiak said. “So, to the extent you can increase Republican enthusiasm in a given district or state, yes, it helps.”
“I think most people who would be persuaded by Vice President Vance are probably already with Paxton,” Mackowiak added.
Vance’s campaigning with Flores, according to Mackowiak, is “really more of a rifle shot to try to help an outstanding candidate who has a stunningly impressive both military and professional record in a seat that Republicans really think can be very, very competitive and be a bright spot.”
A recent report from the New York Times revealed that Paxton lamented the impact of the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention on his campaign against Democrat James Talarico.
“So to be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers,” Paxton is heard saying in leaked audio. “Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good.”
It is another indication that Trump’s ability to boost vulnerable Republicans could be waning as his approval rating craters, while Vance’s ability to help the GOP is on the rise.
The president has notably taken to visiting red-leaning states this week with stops in Oklahoma and Alabama. Next week, he will also head to Nebraska.
Sources close to the White House said that Trump will likely head to the Lone Star State, even as more Republicans publicly break with him.
VANCE TAKES BATTLEGROUND ROLE AS TRUMP OPENS MIDTERM PUSH IN RED STATES
But some Republicans are wary of how much help Trump could provide.
“Any president who’s polling in the low 30s should not be going to battleground states and districts,” another Republican source said. “Period. Full stop.”
Continue reading...
[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
