Republicans are setting sights on Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico’s questionable response to efforts from Chinese nationals to buy vast swaths of land across the state.

Republican candidate Ken Paxton hosted an event outside of Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph in Universal City, Texas on Tuesday morning to shed light on Talarico’s poor record. 

Paxton claimed that Talarico’s votes in the Texas House aided China in their efforts to “steal Texas land.” Talarico is noted to have voted against SB 17, which restricted property purchases in the state from foreign nationals from adversarial countries, and SB 667, to prevent state agencies from conducting business with entities tied to adversarial countries.

The Paxton campaign noted that over 160,000 acres of Texas land are owned by Chinese nationals, including more than 100,000 acres of land outside of Laughlin Air Force Base, located near the Mexican border.

“James Talarico sold Texas out to China,” Paxton told attendees. “I don’t think that James Talarico is confused, I think that’s just who he is.”

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Paxton promoted his lengthy history of launching suits at groups with strong ties to the Chinese Communist Party, including an initiative to prevent Texans' data from falling into the hands of the Chinese government.

Paxton’s latest messaging echoes that of national groups and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who have begun flooding the state with numerous ads depicting Talarico as an ally to communist China.

Paxton and Talarico will face off in just 70 days, in what is one of the most-watched races of the cycle.