Trump Brings Three Texas Football Legends - Manziel, McCoy and Amendola - Onto the Campaign Trail Tuesday
A Heisman winner from Texas A&M, a Longhorns legend and a Texas Tech star turned two-time Super Bowl champion join the president's Corpus Christi and Lubbock stops, in an explicit play for young male voters in the final week.
President Donald Trump's Texas swing on Tuesday comes with three guests chosen for a state that treats football as a civic language: Johnny Manziel, Colt McCoy and Danny Amendola will join his campaign appearances in Corpus Christi and Lubbock, according to an Axios report carried by Yardbarker. Trump is campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, whose race against Democrat James Talarico has become unexpectedly tight.
"President Trump will campaign with three football stars in Texas on Tuesday, leaning into America's favorite sport as Republicans scramble to turn out voters in the final week before the midterms, Axios has learned," the report reads. The stated play is to turn football fans into midterm voters - especially the young men who helped return Trump to the White House in 2024 but who may be less inclined to vote when he is not on the ballot.
Each name maps onto a Texas football tribe. Manziel won the Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M. McCoy is a legend for the Texas Longhorns - the Austin connection on the ticket. Amendola starred at Texas Tech, Lubbock's own program, before winning two Super Bowls in the NFL. Between them, the three cover Aggieland, Austin and West Texas in a single day's travel.
The tactic is not new for this campaign - Jake Paul has made multiple appearances over the past month, and Nicki Minaj recently drew viral attention at a rally - but the Texas version is aimed squarely at the state's own heroes. Whether it moves turnout in a Senate race that recent polling has shown in a dead heat is the question the final week will answer; early voting in Texas runs through Friday, October 30, with Election Day on November 3.
