Paxton says Texas will remain Republican and urges turnout in Senate race

Republican Senate candidate for Texas, Ken Paxton, said this Tuesday (Election Day) that the state will remain "a strong Republican state", but admitted that the party needs massive turnout at the polls to avoid a Democratic swing. In an interview with Fox Business' America Reports program, he said he did not plan to lose the race.

According to Paxton, Democrats "cast" many early votes, while more than 1 million Republican voters had not yet voted. He called the situation unusual and summarized the strategy: "We just need the Republicans to show up. If they show up, we'll be fine."

Early voting in Texas broke a record, with 7.7 million votes, according to the presenter. Senator Ted Cruz, who campaigned alongside Paxton the day before, issued a warning: if the election ended today, Democrats could win every statewide race, and, in his words, "if our people show up tomorrow, we win."

Attacks on the opponent and dispute for votes

Paxton attacked Democratic rival James Talarico, whom he called a democratic socialist. According to the candidate, Talarico tries to conduct the campaign as if he were a moderate, but he voted in favor of measures on income tax and on boys in women's sports, in addition to having sponsored a project that, in Paxton's assessment, would seek to harm the oil and gas industry. Paxton also stated that his opponent never voted to strengthen border security.

Regarding financing, Paxton countered the underdog image used by Talarico, who compared himself to David against Goliath. According to the Republican, most of his rival's resources came from outside the state, including $16 million from Reed Hoffman, from California, while more than 80% of his own resources would come from Texas donors.

Asked about the Hispanic vote, which supported President Donald Trump in large numbers two years ago, Paxton said no one knows what will happen. He bet that these voters will not adhere to what he called his opponent's radical message. He also said he has "no doubt" that he will be able to unite the Republican Party after a difficult primary.

Economic agenda and what it means for investors

The presenter highlighted that the price of gasoline in Texas fell by around US$0.30 in the last month and is well below the national average. Still, local Democrats explore the cost of living issue. Paxton responded with his own tax cut plan: deducting up to $25,000 per person for medical expenses, $5,000 for gym and sports memberships, and $50,000 for homebuyers as home prices soar.

According to the candidate, the idea is to allow people to "keep more than they earn", as inflation would have come from the Biden administration. For investors, the outcome in Texas, a state that Paxton describes as one of the most economically prosperous, will be observed as a thermometer of the balance of forces in the Senate and, consequently, the tax and public spending agenda. The transcript does not contain market projections, and the results of the polls were still unknown.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.