State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, speaks at Stable Hall on Sunday. Credit: Michael Karlis

At a Stable Hall rally on Sunday, State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, said U.S. Senate hopeful James Talarico has the party’s best chance at defeating Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in November’s election for the contested seat.

“[Republicans have] got two guys, [John] Cornyn and [Ken] Paxton,” Gutierrez said. “One, I used to know and thought he was a good man, and that was a Cornyn. Now, I think he’s just a liar and very much confused. But that other son of a bitch, he sure is evil. I know what’s going to happen on Tuesday. I know that on Tuesday that matchup on the other side is going to be Ken Paxton.”

The comments came during a rally for Talarico, an Austin state rep who’s in the home stretch for hotly contested Democratic primary matchup against U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas.

Whichever Dem wins the contest will likely face off against Paxton on Cornyn in November.

Gutierrez, known for headline-grabbing remarks following the mass shooting at his district’s Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, speculated that the scandal-plagued Paxton may have sold his soul to the devil to make it this far in politics.

“I’ve sat at the table with this guy,” Gutierrez said. “He’s not very interesting. Kind of boring. Not a whole lot to say. He’s a crooked SOB, that’s for damn sure.”

The state senator continued: “He’s not particularly loyal to his wife, or his family — maybe not even his dog. So, I got to thinking — how did this guy get so far? And I’ve come up with this theory. My theory is that this ol’ boy, one night in Collin County … he went to the crossroads, and I think he made a deal with the devil himself. I’m telling you here right now, what better matchup against that evil SOB than James Talarico?”

The most recent Emerson College polling shows Talarico leading 52%-47% in the primary. What’s more, top GOP campaign operatives on Monday told Axios that they believe Talarico has the edge over Crrockett, which has them concerned.

“A Paxton vs. Talarico match in November would be unnecessarily competitive and costly” as Republicans face tight races that could cost them both the House and Senate, one operative told Axios.

Even so, some of Crockett’s supporters continue to push a narrative that Crockett is racist, Politico reports. That sentiment stems from the state rep’s comments to an influencer in which he described former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, who’s Black, as “mediocre.” Talarico has since said he was referring to Allred’s campaigning as “mediocre.”

“Electability is rooted in racism,” Fort Worth political activist E.J. Carrion told Politico. “James [Talarico] is less threatening to people, and I think if just those people who say that actually voted for the most qualified candidate, you wouldn’t have a problem.”

Talarico pushed back on that notion during his San Antonio rally, telling reporters that he’s trying to build a more inclusive coalition.

“I completely understand if I’m not Black Texans’ first choice in this race, but I would love to be their close second choice,” he said. “And what we’ve seen in our polling is that my approval rating among Black Texans has continued to rise. It’s at the highest point it’s ever been. They may not vote for me in this race, and that’s quite all right. I’m competing for their votes.”

Polls on Tuesday will be open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. More information about where to vote is available at the Bexar County Elections Department’s website.

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...