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Faced with the possibility of a rare statewide Republican defeat in Texas, Mr. Paxton went to unusual lengths to fill the halls.

It hasn’t always been easy.

A reluctant campaigner with a casual speaking style, Mr. Paxton, 63, has never faced a race as demanding as this year’s. He also never met a Democratic opponent like James Talarico, who filled concert halls with fervent supporters eager to hear him deliver an impassioned speech. The race tests whether Republican loyalty can overcome the enthusiasm generated by Mr. Talarico.

Mr. Paxton, whom even President Trump called a bad speaker, doesn’t take them that way.

Instead, as Mr. Paxton traveled across Texas, he regularly relied on Republican stars and Trump administration officials to draw large crowds on his behalf.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, helped Mr. Paxton fill an old railroad hall in Fort Worth. Vice President JD Vance drew thousands to a warehouse in Weatherford, Texas. President Trump praised Mr. Paxton repeatedly at rallies at stadiums across the state — even though he didn’t give Mr. Paxton much time to speak.

“Remember, he may be the greatest attorney general in the United States of America,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Paxton in San Antonio last month.

Mr. Paxton has rearranged or canceled his own campaign stops to accommodate visitors. He stepped away from his bus tour to attend back-to-back Trump rallies in Corpus Christi and Lubbock, flying between events with the president aboard Air Force One. Mr. Paxton canceled a rally in East Texas on Thursday to be with Mr. Vance, and canceled two others in the border cities of Mission and El Paso this weekend for logistical reasons, his campaign said.

Despite the whirlwind of events, some Republican consultants and Paxton supporters worry he may have gotten a late start on the trail.

This anxiety has been building for months. Over the summer, some of those who came to Mr. Paxton complained about what seemed to be his lack of urgency and that Mr. Talarico was already running ads.

“I see Talarico all the time,” said John Tortorelli, 52, as he waited in line for free food at a Paxton rally in early September in Corpus Christi. “Paxton needs to help himself. He needs to get off his ass.”

That sentiment persisted into the final days of the race, even after outside groups, funded largely by Elon Musk, spent more than $250 million to blanket the airwaves with attacks on Mr. Talarico and other ads in support of Mr. Paxton.

“It’s a little bit rural,” said Sam Johnson, an engineering student at Abilene Christian University, before Mr. Paxton spoke at the restaurant last week. “I think he waited longer than he should have to get on the air.”

Krystal Bristow, who was also at the Abilene event, said Republicans had become accustomed to winning statewide and were slow to recognize the challenge Mr. Paxton faced.

“We’re really lax in Texas,” she said.

Outside the restaurant, a lone protester paced silently, a Talarico sticker on her back, a sign in her hand reading “Paxton is a crook.”

After Mr. Paxton’s speech, a woman and a man lined up so guests could take photos with the candidate. When it was her turn, the woman spoke briefly to Mr. Paxton and was immediately pushed away and escorted out of the restaurant.

The woman, who declined to give her name, said she “asked him what he was doing in Dubai”, referring to a video showing Mr Paxton partying on New Year’s Eve 2024 with two American fugitives and his girlfriend. (Mr. Paxton is divorcing.)

She thought she had been pushed by a member of Mr Paxton’s security team. A spokesman for Mr. Paxton’s campaign did not respond to questions about the incident.

Mr. Paxton has faced years of legal and ethical problems. He was indicted on securities fraud charges, accused of corruption and abuse of power by his own top deputies, investigated by federal authorities and impeached by the Republican-led Texas House.

He denied any wrongdoing, settled the criminal case and beat the impeachment charges. His supporters have rejected the accusations, describing Mr. Paxton as someone who, like Mr. Trump, has been unfairly targeted by his political opponents.

Mr. Paxton’s problems turned off some Republicans, particularly traditional conservatives who had favored Senator John Cornyn, who lost the Republican primary to Mr. Paxton. Mr. Talarico tried to woo these voters.

Some Republican leaders urged wavering voters in their party to support Mr. Paxton despite their reservations, emphasizing party loyalty over the candidate himself.

“I had to hold my nose and vote for John McCain. I had to hold my nose and vote for Mitt Romney,” conservative State Comptroller Don Huffines told the crowd in Weatherford before Mr. Paxton and the vice president spoke. “It’s about saving the nation.”

Throughout his campaign, Mr. Paxton has stuck to his teleprompter speech that focuses on cost cutting and portrays Mr. Talarico as extreme. During his campaign, Mr. Paxton shifted his emphasis from the first part to the second. His first tour was under the banner “Protecting the Promise of Texas.” He is now campaigning on the “Come and Take It” bus tour. His desk bore the message: “When they go after Texas, Ken Paxton goes after them.” »

At a New Braunfels restaurant, Mr. Paxton warned that Mr. Talarico would undermine the country’s conservative Christian roots, attack the oil and gas industry and open the southern border to criminals. He was joined by Senator Ted Cruz, who attacked the type of voters he said would support Mr Talarico, including Muslims and “blue-haired transgender witches”.

Mr. Paxton, in his speeches, pointed to his history of prosecuting technology and pharmaceutical companies as attorney general as proof that he has the everyday interests of Texans in mind.

His most popular lines have often been attacks on Mr. Talarico.

“He wants to transition our children. He wants to get Texas out of oil and gas,” Mr. Paxton told his supporters, before applauding the punchline: “How about we get him and his crazy ideas out of Texas?”

Yet Mr. Paxton does not deliver a rousing speech. Mr. Trump said he “might not speak exactly perfectly.”

Mr. Paxton’s ardent supporters said they did not care. They celebrated his record as attorney general, where he fought for conservative causes. Besides, they argued, a politician who is too good at public speaking might not be authentic.

“Ken Paxton is a genuine candidate,” Anita Valdez, chair of the county Republican Party, said at the New Braunfels event. “Someone can talk well and the results aren’t there.”

The owners of the New Braunfels restaurant, after receiving negative feedback online, later posted on social media that they did not approve of Paxton’s event. “This is the action of a dishonest employee,” the message read. (The campaign declined to discuss the episode.)

In nearby Georgetown on the same day last month, Mr. Paxton was introduced by Darrell Issa, a Republican congressman from California. Mr. Paxton was born in North Dakota and lived in several states as a child, including California, before moving to Texas.

In his remarks, Mr. Paxton suggested that Mr. Talarico, if elected, would vote like a California senator. Behind him as he spoke was the word “California” on a university pennant. His campaign later said this was an oversight.

As public polls continued to show him trailing Mr. Talarico, Mr. Paxton stuck to his message that the stakes in the election were existential for Texas. But he also added a request at the end of his stump speech.

Pray.

“Pray for Texas. Pray for our leaders,” Mr. Paxton told the Abilene audience. “Pray for me.”