President Trump and Vice President Vance both spent Thursday on the campaign trail, but not in the battlegrounds you might expect. Trump launched what he’s calling a 32-day blitz with stops in Denton, Texas, and Durant, Oklahoma, while Vance campaigned in Lakeland, Florida, for Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds. The focus on reliably Republican areas signals a push to boost base enthusiasm with the November 3rd midterms less than five weeks away.

The economy looms over all of it. An AP-NORC poll released this week found only 17% of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling the cost of living. Trump dismissed those numbers, saying affordability challenges were inherited from the previous administration and that prices are trending down. He also told reporters he’s watching Michigan, Texas, and a handful of other states closely, estimating the midterms come down to roughly 35 contests nationwide. The DNC responded by calling the campaign swing a desperate effort to rally a party facing potential losses.

For voters here in Ellis County, the stakes are local as much as national. With Ken Paxton running for Senate and pocketbook concerns dominating kitchen-table conversations across Waxahachie, the question isn’t just who wins in Washington. It’s whether folks here feel motivated enough to show up at the polls. What issue is driving your vote this November?