Republicans launched a new ad attacking Democratic Senate nominee for Texas James Talarico, featuring a much younger face than that of GOP nominee Ken Paxton, who recently drew the mockery of President Donald Trump for the way he looks.
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX), a rising star in GOP circles, stars in the ad, which goes after Talarico’s past stances on transgender surgeries for minors, China, and public safety.
“James Talarico talks like us, but he votes like [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)] and [Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)],” Gill said while appearing to drive a truck. “He voted against banning China from buying Texas land, even property next to military bases. He opposed banning genital mutilation surgeries on children. Talarico even voted against bipartisan legislation making it harder for child predators to post bail and get out of jail. He has no business representing our state.”
Protecting America’s Future, a super PAC funded by West Texas billionaire Tim Dunn, is behind the ad. Dunn is a longtime ally of Paxton, Texas’s attorney general.
Gill, the GOP class president and youngest Republican in Congress at 32, has quickly become a known face among GOP voters since his election in 2024. He has frequently gone viral on social media for his combative questioning in committee hearings.
The freshman lawmaker was one of the first to attack Talarico after he defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) in the Democratic Senate primary before Paxton beat out longtime Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in the GOP runoff a few months later.
The ad comes as the president has recently, on multiple occasions, teased Paxton for his appearance, describing him as “not … the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen.”
“He may not dress right, he may not talk exactly perfectly, and he may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen. But you know what he is? He’s the greatest attorney general in America, and he deserves to be your next senator,” Trump told the crowd last week at the midterm convention, eliciting laughter. “I’m sorry, Ken. Where the hell is he? I’m so sorry. He’ll never speak to me again, but that’s OK.”