DEL RIO, Texas, July 19 (Del Rio Online) — As the Texas Senate race heads toward the Nov. 5 general election, Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton are using campaign stops across South Texas, including Del Rio, to frame border security as a defining issue.
Clifford Young, a pollster and Texas A&M Bush School professor, called the visits to the region “critically important” and described South Texas as “a canary in the coal mine” for the contest.
Talarico has described his approach as a “common sense border security plan,” saying he wants more Border Patrol agents, more immigration judges and more surveillance technology. He has also criticized a proposed wall through the Big Bend region, saying physical barriers make sense in some places but not there.
“There are some parts of the border where a physical barrier makes sense,” Talarico said. “It doesn’t make any sense in this region.”
Paxton has leaned on a harder line. “We need a secure border. We need to protect our country. We need to make sure that we take care of America first,” he said, while tying his campaign to lawsuits against the Biden administration over immigration policy.
Talarico’s Frontera Tour has taken him through border and West Texas communities, while Paxton has campaigned separately in South Texas as both candidates seek support in a region that is central to the statewide race.
