Vance Joke Seen as Calculated Jab at Talarico in Texas

With the race between James Talarico and Ken Paxton for a Senate seat in Texas extremely tight, Republicans appear to be leaning into a particular line of attack against the Democrat. When JD Vance appeared at a rally in Tyler, Texas, this week, a supporter shouted out that he loved the VP. "I love you, too, sir," Vance responded, per Yahoo News. "In a totally platonic way, to be clear. I'm the vice president, not James Talarico." See the clip. Talarico says he is straight and has a longtime girlfriend, but this isn't the first time Vance has suggested this kind of thing. Last month, citing Talarico's support of trans rights, Vance told a Dallas crowd, "I don't know about you, but I never want to see that guy's web browser history," per the New York Times.

President Trump has taken to calling Talarico "Tala-freako" and asserting falsely that the Democrat is a vegan in cattle country. Dana Bash of CNN notes the attacks might pay off in Texas. "This is a state in which ... the DNA for the last several decades has been so GOP that if you hear even something that could raise alarm bells in your mind from somebody like the vice president of the United States, you're thinking about voting for Talarico, maybe you won't," she said, per Mediaite. The latest polls show Talarico continuing to lead the race—a victory would be a huge coup for his party—but Paxton has been closing the gap to within the polls' margins of error, reports the Times.