We've seen President Trump making his jaunts across the country in support of Republican candidates during the final weeks before the midterm election on Nov. 3, with the most recent stop in Wasilla, Alaska, on Tuesday.
But Vice President JD Vance has been busy, and out on the trail for the GOP team, too. One of those stops was Tyler, TX, where he stumped at a rally for Attorney General Ken Paxton to become the Lone Star State's next senator. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, he talked about two of the most hotly contested U.S. Senate races: Paxton against Democrat socialist state Rep. James Talarico, and Republican nominee Michele Tafoya against Minnesota's Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan (D).
The vice president didn't hold back in criticizing Talarico's absence from the campaign trail for nearly 14 days:
The progressive candidate recently returned from a two-week campaign absence, which Vance described as "odd."
"How old is he? Thirty-five? Forty?" Vance asked about Talarico. "You've got to have the energy to do the job, and taking two weeks off the campaign in October — that's the meat of the campaign — I just think it's a very, very bizarre thing."
The vice president added that he hopes Talarico's health is OK but that Texans must weigh whether he has the energy to do the job as a U.S. Senator.
He added that he believes Paxton will make a "great senator."
VP Vance also laid into Democrats for their ongoing failure to hold what he called "basic principles" on which most Americans agree with Republicans, with the prime example being the lawless violence perpetrated by foreign gang members in Minnesota.
"If you elect Republicans, you may not agree with us on everything, but we agree on some basic principles," Vance continued. "Like, for example, everybody should be safe. Everybody should be secure in their communities, and we don't want [to] let violent criminals come into our country."
"So, I do think that contrast is driven a little bit more starkly given what's happening in Minnesota."
He continued:
"It sort of drives home how the Democrats have kind of lost their minds," Vance told Fox News Digital Tuesday when asked about a recent rash of Somali gang violence in Minnesota.
"And if you elect Democrats, you're fundamentally electing people who will invite criminals into your state, into your communities and make your communities less safe."
As RedState recently wrote, a suburban Minneapolis high school's homecoming football game in Eden Prairie was forced to evacuate after a shooting in the stadium parking lot. The shooters were reportedly Somali gang members.
As mentioned above, Republican rising star Tafoya has been gaining in the MN Senate race. There was even more good news for Michele Tafoya reported on Wednesday, with the new Fox News Power Rankings showing momentum slipping away from the Democrat candidate, shifting from Likely (D) to Lean (D), and the Republican nominee "closing the gap" with Flanagan to just 4 points. President Trump also found time to praise Tafoya in his recent OH speech.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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