James Talarico Challenges Ken Paxton to Fox News Debate

The Texas Tribune

AUSTIN, TX — With just over three weeks left before early voting, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico on Thursday challenged his Republican opponent Ken Paxton to a debate moderated by Fox News’ Bret Baier.

“Texans deserve to make an informed choice in this really critical race, so I’m challenging Ken Paxton to a game on his own turf,” Talarico said during an interview at The Texas Tribune Festival. “He’s been running from accountability his whole life. It’s time to stop running.”

In July, Paxton’s campaign said, “of course we are going to debate James Talarico,” after Talarico announced he had accepted invitations from Texas media groups for three televised debates.

“We look forward to engaging with potential debate hosts,” Paxton senior adviser Nick Maddux said at the time. “Talarico is a serial liar who has spent his entire campaign shamelessly deceiving Texas voters about his radical record with[out] answering the hard questions.”

But Paxton had not committed to any debates as of Thursday, Sept. 24.

On Sept. 2, Talarico accepted another debate invitation from liberal media outlet CNN. In response, Maddux said, “no Texan wants to watch James Talarico and two of his fellow far-left activists posing as moderators spew left-wing talking points in a ‘debate,’ or what they would try to turn into a CCP-style struggle session.”

Talarico on Thursday said he wanted to debate and was “willing to go anywhere to make that a reality,” including on Fox, which is the only mainstream media outlet considered conservative.

“I am proud of my record, and I’m not afraid of hard questions,” he said before referencing a running attempt by Republicans to cast him as unmasculine and lacking in testosterone. “Ken Paxton is running from the fight. That sounds like low-T behavior to me.”

Talarico and Paxton are locked in an intensely competitive Senate contest with Talarico leading in recent polls.