Hannah McCarthy reports from Texas

ALONGSIDE LOCAL POLICE and members of the US Secret Service, a dozen Texan cowboys stand watch by the entrance to a warehouse on the outskirts of Weatherford.

With Republican candidates in Texas in unexpectedly tight races for senator and governor, Vice President JD Vance has travelled to the conservative ranching town to drum up support ahead of the elections on Tuesday.

The large crowd in the warehouse is dotted with “Cowboys for Trump” hats and sequined boleros celebrating the 250th anniversary of America (1776-2026), with around a thousand people watching the speeches on a screen in an overflow yard outside. Many have waited hours to see Vance.

In the crowd was 59-year-old Samuel Philip. Born in Calcutta in India, Philip moved to Texas 40 years ago and travelled from Carrollton to the rally this morning. When I ask Philip about what issue he is most focused on for the midterms, he says trans issues and believes that the Democrats want to force children to transition against their parents’ will.

Samuel Philips (59) was among attendees at JD Vance's Texan rally. Hannah McCarthy Hannah McCarthy

It’s a line I have heard at every Republican event I have attended in Texas so far. Trans and gender issues have been a key focus for Republican attack ads on James Talarico, the Democrats’ candidate for the US Senate who is up against the Republicans’ Ken Paxton, the current attorney general for Texas.

A former teacher and Presbyterian pastor, Talarico is appealing to disaffected Republicans and moderates in Texas. In a state which has not elected a Democrat to office in over 30 years, Talarico has managed to secure a consistent but narrow lead in the latest election polls, as well as endorsements from Republicans including former Republican President George W. Bush’s brother, Neil Bush.

Weatherford resident Kelli Kobor who is at the rally says her husband is voting for Talarico. “I’ve been married 34 years, and this is the first time that he has split like this,” says Kobor.

Kelli Kobor and her husband are voting in different diections. Hannah McCarthy Hannah McCarthy

After hearing I’m from Ireland, Kobor asks me if the advert ‘about the grandparents’ in Ireland is true, referring to an ad published by The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) as part of its We-Consent campaign. “The government has no right to talk about your family. All right, I am kind of an absolutist in that respect,” says Kobor. “If it’s a problem in your family, talk about it in your family.”

With Talarico winning over Texans who normally vote Republican like Kobor’s husband, Republicans are now laser-focused on painting Talarico as a dangerous radical.

After the boundary of Talarico’s district in Austin was re-drawn, he found himself running in a more liberal constituency which pushed him to the left on certain positions. For example, Talarico remarked during a committee debate in 2021 that there were “six genders,” a statement which he has since repeatedly walked back but which is a key feature of Republican attacks on him.

An hour late, Vance eventually arrives on stage in Weatherford and tells voters they are facing a stark choice.

“This election is about who you want to elect and which direction do you want this country to go? Do you want to elect the party who wants to defund your local police station, or do you want the party who believes in law and work? Do you want the party who wants to reopen our southern border into American sovereignty? Or taxes to go up, or your taxes to go down?”

Vance's speech was watched on a screen in an overflow yard outside. Hannah McCarthy Hannah McCarthy

Vance’s speech is largely focused on attacking 36-year-old Talarico who he refers to as “Talafreako” and as “a man who was handpicked, handpicked by Democrat donors in Washington D.C. because they thought that he looked electable.”

Talarico said the American flag is “complicated”, says Vance. “Those are not the words of somebody who loves this country. Those are the words of somebody who disdains this country.

“What I love about Texas is that Texas is not ashamed of its way of life,” says Vance in a line that goes down well with both Kobor and an Indian American man called John beside me.

“We love everyone. Just don’t impose your values on us,” says John. “Don’t force us to change. That’s all we ask. Do your thing, but don’t force us to change.”

“The saying in Texas is: leave your politics at the Red River,” says Kobor. “The Red River is the dividing line between Texas and Oklahoma.”

Vance is keen to highlight to the crown the Trump administration’s efforts to end diversity and inclusion programmes in the US. “We ended the practice of DEI in the United States of America,” says Vance, noting that Talarico’s opponent Ken Paxton sued the Biden government multiple times over their DEI policies.

“Paxton has been a polarising figure, and you know that he was impeached by his own party,” says Kobor. “But I believe that Paxton has been a great AG. I loved the aggressiveness in suing companies and suing the Biden administration. That was fantastic.” As Attorney General for Texas, Paxton secured several settlements against tech companies including Meta under the state’s consumer protection laws for breaches of data privacy and not protecting children online.

I ask Kobor what she thinks is Paxton’s main weakness. “He was wrong-footed by the allegations of corruption, and he had a hard time getting out in front of that,” says Kobor. Over the past decade, Paxton has faced corruption allegations, criminal indictments, as well as impeachment proceedings spearheaded by his own Republican Party.

As I queue to leave the rally, I stand beside a woman wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat who seems to have taken Vance’s speech about ending DEI as an immediate call to action. When a man asks us to move to allow two men in wheelchairs to pass, she responds: “Why? Are they even that disabled?” as the two men wearing hats saying “Vietnam Vet” are pushed by us.

Wanda, pictured sporting her USA and Trump-emblazoned bag after Vance's address. Hannah McCarthy Hannah McCarthy

As I walk out of the rally, I speak with Wanda who expresses delight at how the rally has gone. Wearing a bright ‘USA’ hat and t-shirt, Wanda is a local county clerk and has spent the past two weeks overseeing early voting in Texas.

Wanda expects long queues for the in-person voting on election day next Tuesday. She says part of her job will be making sure no one is wearing anything “political” in the station. “Today’s my day off,” she says, holding a large golden bag labelled: ‘Trump’.