Ken Paxton is closing the gap, and James Talarico is reaching for a political disguise. With a new poll putting the Texas Senate race just two points apart, suddenly the Democrat wants voters to see a moderate.

My take?

His convictions haven’t changed. His sales pitch has.

Oil and gas. Transgender procedures for children. ICE. Today on Stinchfield, we examine the distance between Talarico’s record and his election season messaging.

Don’t confuse him for a flip-flopper. In my opinion, he still believes what he believed before. He’s just learned which parts to stop telling you.

Meanwhile, NBC turns up the heat on Michigan Democrat Abdul El Sayed over his sister’s claims about their family’s Muslim Brotherhood connections. He denies having ties. But calling her account “hearsay” invites an obvious question: Why would your own sister say it?