Texas has not sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1988. With less than a month until Election Day, the latest New York Times and Siena Research polling shows Democrat James Talarico ahead of Republican Ken Paxton.
President Donald Trump traveled to San Antonio on Wednesday night to campaign for Paxton, the candidate he endorsed over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the state’s GOP primary.
He devoted most of his remarks to the Senate contest.
The evening did not stay quiet for long. Minutes after Trump walked onstage, one protester started yelling, and a second joined in. Boos rolled through the crowd.
One heckler filmed himself on an iPhone while he shouted at the president and tried to leave the venue.
A man in a Make America Great Again hat ran at him, grabbed his shirt collar, took hold of his hair and pulled him toward the ground. Other attendees stepped in and separated the two.
Nearly a dozen demonstrators disrupted the event overall. Trump stopped speaking for a few moments while security and attendees dealt with them.
He then turned to the departing heckler. Trump said “he’s going back home to mom right now,” and added, “what he doesn’t know is that his mom voted for Trump.”
Trump also asked the crowd, “Is there anything like a Trump rally?” Then he picked his speech back up.
Moments later, the president returned to the subject of the protesters. Trump told the San Antonio crowd, “you know, many of these protesters are paid. You know that, right?”
He used part of the evening to introduce an “Angel Mom,” a woman whose son died in 2014 in a crime committed by an illegal immigrant. Another protester appeared to interrupt her remarks as well.
Later in the rally, Trump announced a payout aimed at older Americans.
“Over 20 million seniors on Medicare will receive checks or deposits for over $100 each, including over 1.4 million seniors here … in Texas,” he said.
Talarico drew repeated criticism from the president, including over the death penalty. Texas leads the nation in executions.
Trump described Paxton as “perhaps the greatest attorney general in the United States of America.” Of the man he endorsed, the president said, “He was tough and he was with us all the way.” He added, “He’s a fantastic man.”
One subject never came up. Hours before the rally, Axios reported on audio of Paxton recorded at a September 24 private fundraising lunch with lobbyists in Washington, D.C. Trump made no mention of the recording, in which Paxton also complained that operatives in Washington were running his campaign.
According to the audio, an attendee asked Paxton what was “dragging” his campaign. “It’s not tariffs…. It’s the war, it’s gas prices, it’s diesel,” Paxton answered.
Paxton went on to say, “When it’s over $6 per gallon for diesel… people are feeling the pinch.” He said rising fuel costs push “up food prices and everything else.” He also acknowledged that he cannot stop the war and has “no control over gas prices.”
The remarks are the third set leaked from that same event within the past month.
Personal matters have also followed Paxton’s campaign, including his ongoing divorce and his relationship with Tracy Duhon, which the Daily Mail has reported on extensively.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott did not appear at the rally.
Abbott, a three-term governor who won reelection in 2022 by roughly 11 percentage points, faces Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa in a competitive race this fall.
His schedule placed him at a hospital dedication about 330 miles from San Antonio.
Texas Democrats pointed to his absence.
“For years, Greg Abbott has never been shy about embracing Donald Trump, calling Trump a ‘great friend’ and championing his agenda every step of the way,” said Texas Democratic Party spokesperson Jacob Long. “But now, as Texas families get crushed by record-high prices driven by Trump’s tariffs and war with Iran, suddenly Greg Abbott has somewhere else to be.”
Democrats have poured new money into the governor’s race.
The Senate contest, though, has pulled in the most national attention as the party fights for control of the chamber.
