杰西·贝达因，托马斯·博蒙特 得克萨斯州奥斯汀——周二，得克萨斯州肯·帕克斯顿与詹姆斯·塔拉里科之间的对决是中期选举中最受瞩目的美国参议院选战之一，民主党人力图打破该州长达30年的连败纪录，而共和党人则忙于捍卫一个关键堡垒和一个日益脆弱的参议院多数地位。
JESSE BEDAYN, THOMAS BEAUMONT AUSTIN, Texas — A showdown in Texas between Ken Paxton and James Talarico, one of the marquee U.S. Senate races of the midterms, had Democrats pushing to break a 30-year losing streak in the state on Tuesday and Republicans scrambling to defend both a pivotal stronghold and an increasingly fragile Senate majority.
这场竞选考验了选民对长期笼罩帕克斯顿的过往丑闻的容忍度——帕克斯顿是得州共和党籍总检察长——也考验了塔拉里科带有宗教色彩的人民主义讯息能否为民主党在这个两年前被总统唐纳德·特朗普轻松拿下的州开辟一条胜利之路。
The campaign has tested voters’ tolerance for past scandals that have shadowed Paxton, Texas’ Republican attorney general, and whether Talarico’s religion-infused populist message can blaze a path to victory for Democrats in a state that President Donald Trump easily carried two years ago.
自1994年以来，得克萨斯州从未选出过全州层面的民主党官员，但一连串独特的事件为这场全国最激烈、最昂贵的竞选之一铺平了道路，而共和党人担心他们可能会输。
Texas has not elected a Democrat to a statewide office since 1994, but a unique cascade of events set the stage for one of the nation’s most heated and expensive campaigns, and Republicans fear they could lose.
帕克斯顿在一场火药味十足的初选中击败了现任参议员约翰·科宁，得益于特朗普在后期给予的背书，尽管参议院共和党领袖们担心，由于帕克斯顿多年来的法律麻烦——包括腐败指控——他的弱点会大得多。
Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a combative primary with the help of a late endorsement from Trump , even though Senate Republican leaders feared that Paxton would be far more vulnerable because of his years of legal troubles including accusations of corruption.
与此同时，选民对高昂的生活成本——汽油、食品杂货、医疗保健等——以及与伊朗的战争日益不满，这削弱了特朗普和共和党人的支持率。
At the same time, voters have become increasingly frustrated over high costs — for gas, groceries, healthcare and more — and the war with Iran, sapping Trump’s and Republicans’ popularity.
塔拉里科的竞选核心是将帕克斯顿描绘成一个腐败政治体系的门面，这个体系让亿万富翁掌握过大的政治权力，而全国其他人的物价却在上涨。他还试图争取那些因帕克斯顿而反感的温和派共和党人和独立人士。
Talarico centered his campaign on portraying Paxton as the face of a corrupt political system that allows billionaires to wield outsized political power while prices rise for the rest of the country. He also tried to woo moderate Republicans and independents put off by Paxton.
帕克斯顿将希望寄托在激发共和党选民的热情上，共和党选民在得克萨斯州历来多于民主党选民，以促使他们前往投票站投票。他多次与特朗普同台竞选，而总统则放大了帕克斯顿的攻击，指责塔拉里科过于进步，不适合“孤星州”，理由是他过去曾发表过包括“上帝是‘非二元性别’”在内的言论。今年从海岸到海岸，政治气候本已对民主党有利，许多人对特朗普在伊朗战争、生活成本飙升等问题上感到不满。
Paxton pinned his hopes on firing up Republican voters, who have historically outnumbered Democrats in Texas, to turn out at the polls. He campaigned with Trump several times, and the president amplified Paxton’s attack that Talarico is too progressive for the Lone Star State because of past statements including that God is “nonbinary.”The political climate was already favorable for Democrats from coast to coast this year, with many people upset with Trump on issues such as the war in Iran and the soaring costs of living.
帕克斯顿还因一系列法律和道德问题而备受拖累，包括2023年遭到弹劾，随后又被其所属政党在腐败指控上宣判无罪，以及一项联邦腐败调查以不予起诉告终。在弹劾审判期间，曾出现婚姻不忠的指控，他的妻子现在正以“圣经理由”起诉离婚。塔拉里科猛烈抨击帕克斯顿的这些道德问题，试图赢得共和党和独立选民的支持。但塔拉里科很少攻击共和党。他常说，问题不那么多是右派与左派之争，而更多是超级富豪与其他所有人之争。
Paxton was further weighed down by a string of legal and ethical problems , including being impeached in 2023 and then acquitted by his own party on corruption accusations, along with a federal corruption investigation that was closed with no charges. During the impeachment trial, there were allegations of marital infidelity, and his wife is now divorcing him on “biblical grounds.”Talarico hammered Paxton on those ethical questions in an attempt to win over Republican and independent voters. But Talarico rarely maligned the Republican Party. The issue is less a question of right versus left, he often said, and more about the uber-rich versus everyone else.
在世界首富、得州居民埃隆·马斯克成为该竞选的主要捐赠者后，塔拉里科的论点获得了强大助力。马斯克向参议院领袖基金总共捐赠了1.58亿美元，该基金随后向得克萨斯州政治行动委员会捐赠了同等金额，后者是帕克斯顿竞选活动的最大捐助者。马斯克还向支持帕克斯顿的“孤星自由政治行动委员会”捐赠了1000万美元。
Talarico’s argument was supercharged after Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and Texas resident, became a major donor in the race. Musk contributed a total of $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, the same amount that the fund then gave to Texas PAC, the largest contributor to Paxton’s campaign. Musk also gave $10 million to the Paxton-supporting Lone Star Liberty PAC.
虽然这笔投资帮助在全州铺天盖地地投放反塔拉里科广告，但这位民主党人开始在竞选演讲中点名马斯克的捐款，将其作为他所说的金钱影响力腐蚀政治的典型例证。
While the investment helped blanket the state in anti-Talarico ads, the Democrat started naming Musk’s donation in his stump speech as the epitome of the moneyed influence that he says has corrupted politics.
帕克斯顿虽然也谈到了物价上涨，但更多地集中精力将塔拉里科描绘为对得克萨斯州而言过于左倾。
While Paxton discussed rising costs, he focused more on framing Talarico as too far-left for Texas.
在一些保守派圈子里被视为文化战争斗士的帕克斯顿，指出这位民主党人曾点名他在得克萨斯州最喜欢的变装皇后，并曾声称有六种性别。
Paxton, considered a culture war pugilist in some conservative circles, pointed to the Democrat naming his favorite drag queen in Texas and previously stating there were six sexes.
塔拉里科一直在努力淡化他过去在性别问题上的言论，称那些言论“令人尴尬”。他说，如果“危及安全或公平”，他反对跨性别运动员参加女子体育比赛。他经常以一种牧师般的方式对待选民，展现自己是一位真诚倾听他们关切的人，并承诺如果当选将缓解这些担忧。
Talarico has worked to moderate his past statements on gender questions, calling them “cringey.”He said he opposes transgender athletes playing women’s sports if it “endangers safety or fairness.”He often took a pastoral approach with voters, presenting himself as an earnest listener to their concerns and pledging to salve them if elected.
文化战争议题帮助帕克斯顿在州检察长的位置上崭露头角，他渴望利用这一职位达到党派目的，包括牵头发起一起失败的诉讼，试图在特朗普毫无证据地声称大选被窃取后，推翻2020年大选结果。
Culture war issues have helped propel Paxton to prominence as a state attorney general eager to use his position for partisan aims, including leading a failed lawsuit that sought to overturn the 2020 election after Trump claimed without evidence that it was stolen.