Early voting draws statewide candidates to ‘battleground’ Tarrant County ahead of Nov. 3 – Fort Worth Report

Early voting draws statewide candidates to ‘battleground’ Tarrant County ahead of Nov. 3  Fort Worth Report

Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Senate candidates Ken Paxton and James Talarico rallied in Fort Worth on the first day of early voting. As early voting opened Monday, three of the four candidates at the top of the Texas midterms ballot rallied supporters in Fort Worth, emphasizing the importance of winning Tarrant County to win statewide office. Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Senate candidates Ken Paxton and James Talarico each made campaign stops in Fort Worth, while gubernatorial challenger Gina Hinojosa spent the first day of early voting in Austin and San Antonio. Each of the candidates who made it to Fort Worth were met by throngs of supporters, and each spoke to the key role Tarrant County plays in Texas politics.

The candidates’ convergence on Fort Worth was far from coincidental; county leaders and political experts told the Fort Worth Report the attention from the top of the ticket demonstrates that both political parties see the county as pivotal in their success. “It shows what we’ve been saying throughout this campaign, that Tarrant County really is the battleground county for our state — how valuable, how important the votes are from here,” said Tim Davis, chair of the Tarrant County GOP. That sentiment was shared by Allison Campolo, chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, who said the candidates’