James Talarico’s campaign has proposed three televised debates against Ken Paxton ahead of the U.S. Senate election in November. However, Ken Paxton’s team has yet to agree to any of those dates. The refusal to commit has led some Texas residents to accuse Paxton of cowardice and of running away from the debate.
As reported by WFAA, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Talarico has proposed three dates for a debate: September 22, October 6, and another date later in October. Paxton, on the other hand, has only claimed to be “close to terms with one outlet,” meaning he would participate in at most one debate.
The refusal prompted Talarico’s team to issue harsh criticism of the Republican opponent: “Ken Paxton’s handlers claim he’s willing to debate, but every time a reporter asks a question, he literally runs away.” According to Talarico’s team, “Texans deserve a fair side-by-side comparison, not political theater.”
Texas Residents Think Paxton Should Agree to Debate
Paxton’s repeated refusal to agree to a debate date irritated users on Reddit’s r/Texas, and some of them accused the politician of running away from the debate. One local wrote: “I bet all my money on Paxton chickening out.”
The refusal also led some users to crack jokes at Paxton’s expense. “Let me guess, they’re negotiating ‘no fact-checking,’” someone said. Another person added: “And no mute button for the moderators.”
Others were even skeptical that the Republican would show up for a single debate: “Paxton already got his sound bite agreeing to debate. Now he’ll quietly and conveniently have schedule conflicts. I am curious how Talarico would manage Republicans’ latest strategy of just yelling [expletive] lies, refusing to answer any questions, then declaring victory.”
While it is uncertain whether a debate will take place before the election, both campaigns are continuing to put their candidates in the spotlight as much as possible, and Paxton appears to be trailing slightly, if recent polls are to be believed. According to recent polling, Talarico leads with 45% of the vote to Paxton’s 40% in the Senate race, posting strong margins among moderate and independent voters.
