OTHERWISE ENGAGED

Deep Red State’s Imperiled Governor Snubs Trump Rally

A top ally is giving Trump a wide berth as the president’s approval ratings plummet.

A MAGA governor seeking re-election in a deep red state says he’ll be too busy to join an increasingly unpopular Donald Trump at a campaign rally this week.

Trump, 80, is holding a rally in San Antonio on Thursday in a desperate bid to woo back MAGA voters for the Nov. 3 midterms and stop a Texas Senate seat going to the Democrats.

But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, 68, has confirmed he will not attend Thursday’s rally because of scheduling conflicts. The move comes after a New York Times poll over the weekend showing Abbott’s Democratic rival, Gina Hinojosa, 52, leading by 3 points.

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Abbott, who is running for a fourth term, told Houston Chronicle reporter Ben Wermund on Monday that it “leads to excitement with the base” when Trump turns up in the state, and that the president “does a good job with getting the base organized and turning out.”

But Trump’s record of galvanizing voters is increasingly hard to square with his latest approval ratings, which have plummeted to a career low of 32 points, according to Reuters polling—2 points lower than after the Capitol riots of Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump won back the White House after pledging to reduce messy foreign military entanglements and boost the economy. Voters now rank his war on Iran and the rising cost of living as their chief concerns going into the midterms.

The nosedive has helped Democrats gain a staggering 9-point lead on the generic congressional ballot, turning previously safe Republican seats in deep red states into genuinely competitive races.

Hinojosa’s weekend lead over Abbott is only the latest sign of a shift on the ground in Texas. GOP-aligned groups poured at least $122 million in September alone into controversial Attorney General Ken Paxton’s bid for a Senate seat.

Paxton, 63, has set a record as the least popular Republican Senate candidate in Texas so far this century, CNN reported last week. Trump backed his MAGA ally in his primary battle against Republican incumbent John Cornyn despite warnings that corruption allegations and accusations of extramarital affairs could doom Paxton’s candidacy.

Since the summer, polls have consistently put Paxton’s opponent, rising Democratic star James Talarico, 37, ahead in that race, at times by up to 6 points. Leaked audio caught Paxton trying to throw Trump under the bus for those numbers last month, saying the president’s performance at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas had dented his standing with voters.

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The Daily Beast has contacted Abbott’s office and the White House for comment on this story.

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