Paxton declines town hall, posts Talarico’s past comments on social media
The Texas Senate contest has drawn mounting national attention as polls show a close race between Democratic state Representative James Talarico and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. Democrats view Talarico as their best chance in a generation to win a statewide race in Texas, while Republicans are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to hold a seat that could help determine control of the U.S. Senate.
Moderator Erin Burnett said during the town hall that Paxton was offered an opportunity to participate but did not respond. Talarico has repeatedly called for Paxton to debate him.
CNN gave Talarico his first major platform to address his nine-day absence from campaigning and the conspiracy theories that accompanied it. Talarico said he had been sick with the flu. “I think the responsible thing to do when you have something like the flu is to stay at home,” he told an audience of Democrats, Republicans and Independents.
Paxton’s campaign had distributed photos of missing-person fliers and launched a “Tala-Freak-Out Tip Line” in response to the break. Right-wing influencers spread a since-discredited story that Talarico had gone to a mental health treatment center in Ohio.
Talarico tied the conspiracy theories to his broader political message. “They get clicks,” he said. “The billionaires who own these platforms get rich. We all get angry, and nobody’s life gets any better.”
Between voter questions, Burnett pressed Talarico on areas where his views appeared to have shifted or moderated. She cited a previous quote in which he called capitalism an “oppressive system” and referenced “the process of dismantling it.” Talarico said the quote lacked context and referred to what he called a current state of “crony capitalism.”
“What’s rewarded in this economy is people who can pay for access and pay for control,” Talarico said. “I want to get back to the kind of capitalism we had in the middle of the 20th century in this country. I want competition, but it’s got to be fair competition.”
Asked about a past comment calling to “tear down the secret police force” of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Talarico said he does not support abolishing ICE. “We need Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” he said. “We don’t want masked men in unmarked vehicles coming through and terrorizing our communities.”
Talarico engaged in a series of “Change My Mind” mini-debates with voters. He sought to convince a Catholic woman who said her faith teaches that life begins at conception that they could disagree on abortion policy while cooperating on reducing unwanted pregnancies. He debated theology with another woman who described herself as a Christian and said she questioned the authenticity of his faith, telling her that differing interpretations of Scripture should be encouraged rather than discouraged. On some past comments, he said he was still learning how to craft religious messaging that is “attention-getting but not disrespectful or annoying.”
To a student voter skeptical about supporting Ukraine, Talarico described the aid as a “cost-saving measure.” To a professor worried about government overreach, he said he supports a national ban on gender-affirming surgeries for minors but believes parents and doctors should determine other care.
Talarico lodged criticisms of former President Joe Biden at several points, twice calling his border policies a failure. Responding to a voter who asked how he planned to protect the oil-and-gas industry, Talarico said he would stand up to his own party “if they mess with our oil-and-gas industry.” He repeated a campaign line that “I already have a religion and I already have a sports team” and would not hesitate to break from Democrats when necessary.
Talarico used portions of the town hall to reiterate two central campaign themes: bringing people together and working against what he described as a corrupt system. “Just look at how this studio is set up here tonight,” he said near the start of the event, noting that voters were seated by political leanings. “I’m tired of us being divided by teams.”
On the data centers being built in Texas, Talarico said “corrupt politicians who are bought and paid for by these data center companies are giving sweetheart tax deals” to them. He said he supports requiring data centers to pay for their own power, recycle water, and receive buy-in from community members before approval.
Talarico called out Paxton for a series of controversies that have drawn scrutiny, including his accumulation of wealth and property while in office, but framed the contest more broadly. “We have an opportunity in this race not just to defeat the most corrupt politician in Texas, we have an opportunity to defeat this entire corrupt system,” he said.
Paxton did not immediately comment on the town hall, but during the event he posted clips on social media of Talarico’s previous comments saying fossil fuels are destroying the planet and referencing a possible tax increase. “James Talarico has spent his career embracing the most radical policies imaginable,” Paxton wrote.