Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Philadelphia Eagles fans were left befuddled on Sunday \u2014 and not just because of the Birds\u2019 loss to the Los Angeles Rams<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cWhy am I getting Ken Paxton ads during the Eagles Rams game???\u201d wrote one user on X<\/a>. Many others posted similar questions, some with decidedly more profanity. <\/p>\n At least three ads supporting Paxton, the Republican candidate in the contentious U.S. Senate race in Texas<\/a>, aired during the home matchup, which was broadcast locally on Fox 29. <\/p>\n Likely, the majority of the Eagles-Rams audience can\u2019t vote in Texas. So why all the airtime? <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s probably aimed at reaching into the pocketbooks rather than the voting hearts of the people who are going to be watching,\u201d said Michael Hagen<\/a>, an associate professor in the political science department at Temple University<\/a>. <\/p>\n Hagen said the motive for putting ads in front of people who may not be able to vote in a particular election is typically to solicit donations and raise funds. <\/p>\n With a month until the midterm elections, the Texas Senate has become a \u201cmuch more competitive question mark\u201d than expected, he said; polls show<\/a> Paxton is trailing his Democratic opponent, James Talarico. While Democrats have not won a statewide election in Texas in decades, the hotly contested race, and others in battleground states<\/a>, could also swing control of the U.S. Senate<\/a>. <\/p>\n According to social media posts, at least one of the slots \u2014 of Paxton\u2019s estranged wife<\/a> urging voters to back the entire Republican ticket \u2014 appeared to run nationwide. <\/p>\n \u201cDawg I am in ROSSLYN, VIRGINIA,\u201d one user<\/a> said, posting a photo of the commercial on TV. (Also, on Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys played the Houston Texans.)<\/p>\n