Paxton Wins Chamber Nod as Michigan Race Turns on Trust

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Sunday, even though he beat the business lobby’s preferred candidate in the primary runoff. With nearly two weeks until the midterm elections, the move shows how pro-growth economics are shaping two of the country’s most closely watched Senate contests.

Business Backing in Texas

Neil Bradley, the Chamber’s executive vice president and chief policy officer, didn’t hedge. “The choice is clear in Texas,” he said. “Attorney General Ken Paxton has been a defender of free enterprise and the pro-growth policies that empower American businesses to thrive.”

The endorsement marks a striking turnaround. Paxton defeated the Chamber’s preferred candidate, Sen. John Cornyn, in a contentious primary runoff. Cornyn still hasn’t endorsed him. President Donald Trump, who backed Paxton over Cornyn in the primary, said Thursday that Cornyn was “doing everything possible to make it hard” for Paxton to win in November.

Paxton and his allies have spent the closing weeks bringing the Republican base together. He’s built his general-election campaign around economic issues, proposing new tax deductions to lower living costs. He’s also attacked Democratic opponent James Talarico for voting against a 2019 bill that would have constitutionally banned an income tax in Texas, a state that currently has none.

Talarico, a Democratic state representative, is trying to become the first Democrat to win statewide office in decades. Saturday night, The Chicks invited him onstage at a San Antonio concert, where lead vocalist Natalie Maines called him “a man with a plan.” Maines also referred to an incident more than a decade earlier in which Paxton reportedly pocketed a $1,000 pen; Paxton’s campaign said it was a mix-up. Talarico praised the band’s “courage, conviction, and a willingness to speak truth to power.” The band faced boycotts in the early 2000s after Maines said at a 2003 concert, before the invasion of Iraq, that the group was “ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”

Scrutiny in Michigan

In Michigan, Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed planned a get-out-the-vote rally in Detroit with the party’s statewide ticket, aiming to reach Black voters and project unity. Republican nominee Mike Rogers is working hard to cut into that core Democratic constituency and was scheduled to appear Sunday morning on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

The rally followed a heated town hall exchange Saturday. An attendee repeatedly pressed El-Sayed to reject the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political movement. El-Sayed disavowed the group and criticized the questioner for implying he had “dual loyalty.” “You assume ... that because I am Muslim, that somehow I would have some allegiance to something that is not our Constitution,” he said. “For me, that Constitution is the guiding light.”

The questions had a recent backdrop. Republicans, including Rogers and Trump, have commented in recent days about possible connections between El-Sayed and the organization, and El-Sayed, who could become the first Muslim elected to the Senate, has faced GOP accusations that he’s sympathetic to interests connected to Islamic terror. Earlier in the week, he denied that he or his family had ties to the Brotherhood, calling it “an insane thing to assume.” The latest criticism followed the resurfacing of old tweets by his half-sister, including a 2012 post describing “an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college.”

Voter Anger on Both Sides

The GOP isn’t coasting. Republicans are privately grappling with voter anger over “corrupt politicians” and billionaires, along with worries about cost of living and foreign policy, according to the live coverage. Corruption appears to be weighing on the party as it tries to hold the House.

Democrats are mobilizing. Thousands attended “No Kings: Vote Early” events Saturday. Organizers said they aimed to oppose voter-suppression efforts and help people plan to vote, though anti-Trump sentiment was also on display. In Washington, people gathered near the site of Trump’s proposed triumphal arch. Peter Jipp, a retired climate scientist, said, “There is an ongoing effort to undermine democracy in this country. The billionaires are funding this, and the people need to take power back into our own hands.”

Jeremiah Fuentes, an 18-year-old Georgetown University freshman and Indiana voter, said he’s “really excited” to cast his first ballot. He named immigration and affordability as top issues. “The economy, you know, it’s unaffordable,” he said. Sen. Bernie Sanders and other leading Democratic surrogates are also back on the trail.

Why This Matters:

Pocketbook issues are driving both parties’ closing arguments. Even a Democratic first-time voter calls the economy “unaffordable,” while Paxton’s pitch on tax relief and an income-tax ban speaks directly to that anxiety. The Chamber’s endorsement signals that business groups will support a candidate who beat their own pick once he’s the nominee, though Cornyn’s silence shows the GOP’s primary wounds haven’t fully healed. In Michigan, the El-Sayed fight leaves voters to weigh how much scrutiny candidates’ associations deserve and how candidates answer it. Less than two weeks remain, and turnout will likely decide who controls the Senate; affordability may determine turnout.