In 2024, Donald Trump and JD Vance carried Tarrant county, Texas, by 42,125 votes. So why, on the afternoon of 26 September, was the arena at the University of Texas-Arlington filled with nearly 5,000 super fans cheering for liberal media darlings Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell like they were rock stars?
After two years of hosting the network’s annual fan event in dark blue New York City, MS Now (formerly MSNBC) got wind that something was happening in Texas. The state, which hasn’t elected a Democrat to the US Senate in 37 years, might do so next month, when 37-year-old James Talarico, Texas state representative, goes up against the Republican nominee, Ken Paxton, a well-known but controversial figure who ousted incumbent John Cornyn in the party’s primary with Donald Trump’s backing.
