Denton, Texas

President Donald Trump opened a 32-day campaign tour on Oct. 1 with a stop in Denton, Texas, touring Peterbilt Motors' truck factory ahead of an evening rally in Durant, Oklahoma. Addressing factory workers and company leadership, Trump touted American manufacturing and credited 25% tariffs on foreign medium- and heavy-duty trucks and non-compliant components under the USMCA with helping add more than 1,000 jobs at the facility. Peterbilt's parent, PACCAR, also makes Kenworth trucks at U.S. plants in Ohio, Mississippi, Washington, and Kentucky.

Trump used the stop to deliver an enthusiastic endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, calling him "the single greatest attorney general in the United States," as Paxton runs for U.S. Senate against Democratic Rep. James Talarico, with recent September polling showing Talarico slightly ahead. Campaign finance filings show $10 million in ad spending split evenly between attacking Talarico and promoting Paxton. Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Ronny Jackson, facing a safer reelection bid, were also present. The tour continues with stops in Alabama, Ohio, and Nebraska, part of a broader Republican push ahead of the November midterms.

Denham Springs City Court Judge Jerry Denton Jr., a Republican, is running for reelection in the Nov. 3 election, with early voting set for Oct. 20-27. Denton, a former homicide detective, worked as a special prosecutor for the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office and later served as Assistant Attorney General Special Legal Counsel and Director of the Louisiana Attorney General's White Collar Public Corruption Section. He is licensed to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Before becoming judge, Denton served as Denham Springs marshal from 2009 to 2016, earning Law Enforcement Officer of the Year honors, and as a city council member from 2006 to 2009, when he helped bring Bass Pro Shops to Denham Springs and worked on a new wastewater treatment plant. He has held leadership roles in Livingston Parish's Republican Party organizations and numerous legal and civic associations.