Paxton and Talarico tussle for Texas Senate seat. Trump to campaign virtually instead of in person

With early voting approaching 50 million ballots nationwide, the final weekend of the midterms put an unexpected spotlight on Texas, where a tossup Senate contest between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico is serving as a gauge of voter discontent with President Donald Trump and the GOP. Paxton, the state attorney general who unseated Sen. John Cornyn in the primary with Trump's backing, told a Fort Worth crowd that the race would come down to the wire and urged Republicans to match Democratic early turnout. Talarico, a state lawmaker, planned a Houston rally, according to ABC News.

Trump, meanwhile, skipped an in-person event Saturday, instead dialing into six tele-rallies after a morning at his West Palm Beach golf club. He is due in Iowa and Kansas on Sunday for stops that had been canceled and then put back on the schedule.

In Virginia's 2nd District, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries campaigned for Elaine Luria, who is trying to retake the seat from Rep. Jen Kiggans. Jeffries promised oversight of the administration and said Democrats would push out Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Separately, in Michigan, a rift between Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and former rival Haley Stevens clouded a planned Sunday appearance with Rep.

Summarized by PolitiKool from ABC News’s reporting. Read the full story at ABC News →