Republican Ken Paxton spoke Friday at the Federal American Grill on Shepherd Drive in Houston's Rice Military neighborhood. State Sen. Mayes Middleton, who is running for Texas attorney general, and Jon Bonck, the Republican nominee for Texas' 38th Congressional District, also spoke. Paxton outlined his economic proposals, which he calls the Protecting the Texas Promise Plan. The plan relies mainly on tax cuts, including a $25,000 deduction for out-of-pocket medical expenses and a $50,000 deduction for buying a home.
Paxton said his opponent, Democrat James Talarico, has a record that takes money out of voters' pockets. He said a vote for Talarico would be a vote for Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to run the Senate. Paxton also accused Talarico of supporting the most radical agenda of any candidate to run statewide in Texas history.
According to HarrisVotes.com, Harris County's unofficial combined early in-person and mail-in vote was just over 1 million after two weeks of early voting. The Texas Secretary of State's website showed more than 1.8 million votes cast in the ten-county Houston metropolitan area over the same period.