Ken Paxton accused James Talarico of wanting to “transition our kids,” while the Democratic lawmaker branded his Republican rival “the most corrupt politician in Texas” as the two candidates held competing rallies in Fort Worth on Monday.
Texas has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1993. But Talarico, a state representative, currently holds a narrow advantage over Texas Attorney General Paxton in the polling averages.
Both campaigns chose Fort Worth—the state’s fourth-largest city—for the opening day of early voting. Paxton brought Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the stage, while Talarico unveiled a campaign advertisement featuring actors from the television drama Friday Night Lights.
Speaking at the T&P Station Wedding and Event Venue, Paxton portrayed Talarico as a radical on social issues, focusing particularly on his views regarding transgender children.
“This guy is really obsessed with transitions. He wants to transition our kids, he wants to transition Texas off of oil and gas. How about we transition him and his crazy ideas right out of Texas?” Paxton said, drawing loud applause from supporters.
Talarico has previously made statements supporting transgender rights and later walked back comments that suggested God was nonbinary.
Paxton also targeted Talarico’s economic agenda, including the Democrat’s criticism of President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
“James Talarico has a plan for your money, it just doesn’t include you. You all know that’s true. He is a radical who has never met a tax increase he didn’t love. He said that Trump tax cuts were deeply immoral. That’s who he is,” Paxton said.
Ken Paxton (pictured) accused James Talarico of wanting to “transition our kids,” while the Democrat called his Republican opponent “the most corrupt politician in Texas” during competing Fort Worth rallies Monday.
Talarico has previously made statements supporting transgender rights and later walked back comments suggesting that God was nonbinary.
Kennedy appeared at the event to offer a full endorsement of Paxton and said the attorney general would support his efforts in Washington to combat autism.
At his own rally, Talarico continued to focus on corruption allegations involving Paxton. He called the attorney general “the most corrupt politician in Texas” and did not mention President Trump during his speech.
“Ken Paxton is everything that’s wrong with our politics,” Talarico said, accusing Paxton of adding $27 million to his personal net worth since taking office.
“This is the rot at the core of this corrupt political system. We can’t afford gas or groceries or healthcare because the system has been rigged by billionaires and corrupt politicians like Ken Paxton.”
Paxton has faced a series of scandals in recent years, including an impeachment effort from members of his own party. He has also been indicted on securities-fraud and other charges over allegations that he misled investors, and was accused of giving a job to a Christian influencer with whom he was having an affair.
Talarico’s campaign also released an advertisement featuring Connie Britton, Jesse Plemons and other actors from NBC’s Friday Night Lights, the 2000s series that was set and filmed in Texas.
The Democrat has dubbed his campaign swing the “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts” tour, borrowing a well-known line from the show.
Talarico has presented himself as an outsider challenging Texas’ Republican establishment, particularly as Austin-based billionaire Elon Musk contributes millions of dollars to Paxton’s campaign.
Paxton featured Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a guest speaker at his Fort Worth rally.
President Donald Trump endorsed Paxton in his runoff race against the Republican Senator John Cornyn
The national conversation around Talarico’s campaign has evolved over the past months.
Initially, the state lawmaker was considered just the latest of several Democratic candidates over the past years who gave the party a hope of flipping Texas, only for that hope to deflate come Election Day.
Now, Talarico is seen as a real contender to win the seat against Paxton.
He holds a narrow advantage over Paxton, leading 48 percent to 46 percent in a University of Houston poll released Monday.
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Talarico’s success so far can partly be chalked up to voters’ apprehensions toward Paxton, who faced questions in his past over corruption, including being impeached by his own party in the Texas legislature. He was later acquitted.
While outside spending in support of Paxton has flooded the Texas airwaves with ads, Talarico’s campaign itself has outpaced Paxton’s in fundraising from donors eager for Texas to forgo its solidly Republican title.
The prospect of a flagship GOP state turning blue doesn’t just fill Democrats with glee and Republicans with alarm.
Whoever wins will help determine which party controls the Senate in Trump’s final two years in office, making it either smooth sailing for Trump or a bog of investigations and opposition.
Talarico has pitched himself as an upstart disruptor of the state’s Republican establishment, especially with Austin resident Elon Musk (pictured left) pumping millions into Paxton’s campaign
Scandal has swamped Paxton in recent years, from an impeachment attempt by his own party to being indicted on securities fraud and other charges over an alleged scheme to mislead investors to giving a job to a Christian influencer he was having an affair with
Talarico, a seminarian and state representative, has also tread a very careful path — as nonpartisan as he can — from the major metros that already tilt Democratic, along the border towns that flipped from blue to red last election, and to the rural Republican high plains and desert.
The candidate has distanced himself from former President Joe Biden’s administration and his own party, and while progressive Senator Bernie Sanders is coming to Texas this month, he won’t be sharing a stage with Talarico.
Talarico’s strategy is to take direct aim at what voters say they are most concerned about: the costs that have inexorably grown for years.
That unaffordability, Talarico argued at the nighttime rally in Texas that was packed with younger voters, is because billionaires and corrupt politicians have rigged the system.
Trump and Republicans are well aware of Talarico’s ability to connect with voters, and of Paxton’s struggles to find purchase in what would otherwise be a relatively easy race for a Republican.
The President has made several trips to Texas to rally for Paxton.
Paxton has received significant financial support from Musk, who last year headed Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk contributed $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, federal campaign spending filings showed Thursday.
The Senate Leadership Fund gave $158 million to Texas PAC, the largest contributor to Paxton’s campaign.
Musk also provided $10 million to Lone Star Liberty PAC, a group that supports Paxton.
Talarico’s recent return to the road follows nine days earlier this month when Talarico was out of the public eye due to the flu.
His absence sparked a swirl of conspiracies online, including the false claim that he was at a mental health treatment center in Ohio.
Shared by conservative social media influencers, the claim quickly fell apart at closer inspection.
Election forecaster Nate Silver has made a fresh prediction about Democrats’ chances of seizing control of Congress, with his latest model giving the party a 94 percent chance of winning the House and a 75 percent chance of taking the Senate.
The updated forecast, published Monday in his Silver Bulletin newsletter, comes just over two weeks before Americans head to the polls on November 3, with Republicans fighting to hold on to their majorities in both chambers.
The FiveThirtyEight founder’s model puts Democrats’ chances of taking the Senate at 75 percent, up from 50 percent in early September, while their odds of winning the House have climbed from 81 percent to 94 percent over the same period.
Silver had discussed the shifting political landscape ahead of the midterms during an appearance on The Fifth Column podcast on Friday, October 16, before publishing his latest forecast.
The figures are model-based probabilities, not poll results, and do not guarantee that Democrats will win either chamber.