Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico has challenged his Republican rival, state Attorney General Ken Paxton, to a televised debate on Fox News hosted by Bret Baier, the network's chief political anchor. Talarico, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, made the suggestion on Thursday during a panel at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin. Democrats are hoping to flip the Senate in November, and winning a seat in Texas, a traditional Republican stronghold, would be a major coup for the party.
At the festival, Talarico accused Paxton of "dodging debates all year," adding that Paxton's team had "declined three different invitations from local Texas TV stations." The Democrat continued: "So let's go to Ken Paxton's safe space. Let's do Bret Baier on Fox News. I'll go into the lion's den." In July, Paxton's senior campaign adviser, Nick Maddux, said, "Of course we are going to debate James Talarico," but no such event has been scheduled.
Newsweek has considered what a debate between Paxton and Talarico could look like, including the likely central issues and which candidate could have the advantage. The Paxton and Talarico senate campaigns were contacted for comment on Friday via email outside regular office hours. A Texas Politics Project survey of 1,200 registered Texas voters, conducted August 5-13, found inflation was the biggest concern among respondents at 19 percent, followed by political corruption/leadership at 15 percent.
The economy and immigration were joint third with 10 percent each. According to a YouGov poll of 1,596 U.S. adults, conducted September 11-14, 41 percent of voters think the Democrats would do a better job of handling the economy versus 37 percent for the Republicans. Trump in particular has been hit by persistently high inflation, which critics attribute to his war with Iran and tariff policy.
There's no reason to think the Democratic advantage on the economy doesn't extend to Texas, so this one goes to Talarico. Political corruption and leadership were the second biggest concern of Texan voters, according to the Texas Politics Project survey. Paxton has been dogged by a series of scandals that have made him controversial even within the Texas Republican Party.
In May 2023, the GOP-dominated Texas House voted to impeach Paxton on allegations of abuse of public trust and unfitness for office. Paxton was found not guilty by the state Senate and denied any wrongdoing. Still, the controversy has been damaging.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
