Thousands of people packed into a room on a Monday evening to hear Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico in Collin County — Ken Paxton’s home turf.
The room erupted in applause when Talarico walked onstage. He told the crowd Republicans see him as a threat.
“They are afraid of this movement that we're building,” Talarico said. “They're afraid of this crowd in Plano, Texas.”
Paxton, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, has long called Collin County home. The county’s voters elected him to the House and Texas Senate. The county is known for being a Republican stronghold, launching the political careers of Rep. Jeff Leach, U.S. Rep. Keith Self and Texas Republican Party Chair Abraham George.
Texas House District 70, the district that launched Paxton’s political career, was redrawn after 2020 redistricting. Mihaela Plesa became the first Democrat from Collin County elected to the statehouse in over 30 years when she first won the seat in 2022.
Democrats point to Plesa’s win as proof of partisan shifts in Collin County. The county, which includes booming suburbs like Plano and rural ranch land, has experienced rapid population growth, making it one of the fastest-growing areas in the country according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Democrats say the diversity that comes with that growth has been to their benefit.
Plesa said at the rally in Plano that flipping Collin County would have repercussions across the state.
“Candidates up and down the ballot are recognizing the power of Collin County,” she said.
Paxton said something similar during his victory speech after he defeated John Cornyn in the GOP runoff, warning supporters losing Texas would be consequential for the Republican Party.
“Every Democrat, and I would say every Republican, knows that if we lose this state, if Republicans lose this state, we lose the country,” Paxton said.
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