Brit Hume, chief political analyst at Fox News, is casting doubt on whether President Trump’s nationwide campaign push is actually helping Republican candidates ahead of the midterms.
The veteran analyst, a former ABC News correspondent, took particular aim at Trump’s performance in the Texas Senate race, which has emerged as a surprisingly competitive contest.
Trump has thrown his support behind Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is locked in a tight battle against Democratic state lawmaker James Talarico.
Despite Texas’s longstanding reputation as a reliably Republican state, multiple pre-election polls show Talarico holding a narrow lead over Paxton.
Nonpartisan election forecaster Decision Desk HQ, a partner of The Hill, currently gives Talarico a 55 percent chance of winning the Texas Senate seat.
Hume took issue specifically with Trump’s rhetorical approach to attacking the Democratic candidate on the campaign trail in recent appearances.
“He’s calling James Talarico ‘Tala-freako.’ Now look, it’s true that James Talarico has endorsed some pretty exotic positions in his years in public life,” Hume said.
Hume argued that the attack line was failing to land because Talarico did not present as an easy target for that kind of ridicule among voters watching closely.
“However, what he does not seem to be is a freak. You see him, he seems mild-mannered, he seems pleasant, he’s not an unattractive candidate, whether you agree with him or not,” Hume said.
The analyst also raised broader concerns about whether Trump’s vigorous campaigning schedule was generating any measurable momentum shift for Republicans in contested races across the country.
“Sometimes in the course of a campaign, you’ll see a candidate or a party that is trailing in the polls begin to catch some momentum,” Hume said.
“I haven’t seen that yet. The president has been out campaigning vigorously, but I’m not sure it’s making any difference,” Hume added, delivering his sharpest assessment of the president’s midterm effort.
The Texas race has drawn national attention as a bellwether for whether Trump’s brand of politics can continue to dominate even in traditionally safe Republican territory heading into election day.
