2026 election: Trump's San Antonio rally may be make or break moment for Texas GOP
President Trump to travel to San Antonio
President Trump is scheduled to be in San Antonio for a rally with GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton. The event is part of a series of trips to battleground states the president is trying to shore up for Republicans.
AUSTIN, Texas - President Trump is scheduled to be in San Antonio for a rally with GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton.
The event is part of a series of trips to battleground states the president is trying to shore up for Republicans.
Early voting starts in a few days and these Trump campaign trips, like the one Wednesday in San Antonio, could be viewed as a make-or-break moment for the Texas GOP.
President Trump was in Nebraska Monday night and Maryland Tuesday afternoon. Last week he was in Denton and Oklahoma.
What they're saying:
On Battleground Texas, Steven Dial with FOX 4 Dallas spoke to political analyst Matt Wilson with Southern Methodist University about the campaign stop in San Antonio, which is now politically unstable ground for Trump.
"So that really is a double-edged sword with Trump coming to town. That said, he still has an ability to fire up the MAGA base. And one of the things that Republicans really need is to match Democratic enthusiasm. Democratic voters are fired up," said Wilson.
Big picture view:
The Battleground Texas team discussed the hard press in San Antonio and the political risks at play.
"Trump likes tearing down speculation, tearing down assumptions, blowing through them. I think he's got to speak directly to Latino moderates, conservatives, or this trip is going to be a bust," said FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski.
The goal is to boost Republican turnout, but polls indicate that Trump has lost ground with Latino voters.
"It’s entirely possible President Trump does more harm than good coming back here. Remember that leaked Paxton audio we heard earlier in the show, where the AG claimed his numbers dipped after the Dallas convention? And all three of us know when it comes to politics, Greg Abbott is smarter than your average alley cat. Don't you think if there was any advantage to be harvested from sharing the stage with the commander-in-chief that our governor would clear his schedule and be there. Instead, Abbott is busy elsewhere, as in the land of political survival," said FOX 26 Houston’s Greg Groogan.
Abbott was in San Antonio Tuesday for a law enforcement roundtable discussion. On Wednesday, he was already scheduled to be in Jasper for the dedication of a medical facility. Later Wednesday night, Abbott will be in College Station to speak at a local Republican Party event.
The blitz of campaign stops comes with another blitz of negative campaign ads. All the political rhetoric could also have a negative influence on voter turnout by creating mid-term voter fatigue.
"I think people are just ready to go vote. Like, of course, we've been talking about this so much. And then the big push on voter registration. Now that that deadline has passed, I think, people are ready to finally vote. And of course, like any election cycle, they're ready for the ads to stop," said Steven Dial.
The other side:
Democrats are organizing counter protests for Trump's rally in San Antonio, but those events run the risk of backfiring.
Several political analysts have noted if the protestors become violent and show up carrying flags from other countries, that could end up alienating independent and moderate voters.
The Source: Information in this report comes from Battleground Texas, a FOX Local show on Texas politics hosted by FOX 7 Austin's Rudy Koski, FOX 4 Dallas's Steven Dial and FOX 26 Houston's Greg Groogan.