Trump Jr., Top Trump PAC Helping Vulnerable GOP Rep. Pete Sessions
Trump political machine trying to stave off top Dem pickup opportunity in Texas’ 32nd District
The Trump political machine is out in full force in Texas’ 32nd District to boost GOP Rep. Pete Sessions as his race against Democratic challenger Colin Allred tightens.
First, Vice President Mike Pence stumped for Sessions there on Monday. Then, the top Trump-aligned super PAC shelled out millions of dollars on airtime for a new ad attacking Allred. And on Wednesday, the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., announced he will host a fundraiser in the district for Sessions later this month.
Pence did not mince words in a speech he delivered earlier this week on the importance of keeping Sessions’ seat in Republican hands.
“He’s in a competitive race,” the vice president said of Sessions. “The balance of Congress may be decided in Texas in this district.”
America First Action, the super PAC promoting candidates who support the president’s agenda, dropped a cool $2.1 million for airtime on local broadcast and cable channels in the district for a new advertisement painting Allred as a puppet of Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Charles E. Schumer.
The ad ties Allred to former presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for All” health care plan and notes the infusion of campaign funds he has received from Pelosi, a pariah among conservatives in southern states such as Texas.
“Something is all wrong with Allred,” the narrator says in the ad. “Maybe it is because he supports Bernie Sanders’ government-run health care scheme, which could take away your healthcare, costing us trillions.”
The ad hit the airwaves Wednesday and will continue to play in the coming weeks.
Trump Jr., the president’s oldest and most politically active son, is making a trip down to the Dallas suburbs to host an Oct. 18 fundraiser for Sessions with tickets ranging from $2,700 to $10,000, CNBC reported.
Trump Jr.’s girlfriend, former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, will co-host the event.
Sessions’ campaign is welcoming Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle with open arms.
“As conservative leaders who believe in defending our Constitutional rights and working to expand freedom and opportunity, we welcome them to Texas and thank them for supporting Congressman Sessions,” a representative for the Sessions campaign told CNBC.
Republicans aren’t the only ones going on the attack in the district, though.
Allred’s campaign released an advertisement of its own criticizing Sessions for supporting a health care plan that Allred has said would have stripped away protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
Sessions rejected that characterization of the House GOP’s proposed health care act, which was shot down in the Senate by a one-vote margin last year.
A New York Times/Sienna College poll from late September showed Sessions with a one-point lead over Allred, well within the survey’s margin of error.
Hillary Clinton carried the district by 2 points over Trump in 2016, a figure Democrats hope they can capitalize on to flip the seat on Nov. 6.
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the race a Tossup.