Texas State Rep. James Talarico, the Democrat running against MAGA-aligned Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for U.S. Senator John Cornyn‘s seat, challenged Paxton to three televised debates.
As seen below on Morning Joe, Talarico said: “Ken Paxton’s billionaire handlers won’t let him answer questions in public. He hasn’t appeared on a debate stage in more than a decade.”
Accusing Paxton of refusing to answer basic questions, Talarico posed one, asking, “How did you become a multimillionaire on a government salary?” The Democrat said Paxton “doesn’t answer to the public because he’s not a public servant. He is a puppet politician, and I want him to prove me wrong.”
Ken Paxton’s billionaire handlers won’t let him answer questions in public. It’s why he hasn’t debated in over a decade.
But I want him to prove me wrong.
I’m challenging Ken Paxton to three televised debates. pic.twitter.com/4u56zgiVgY
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) July 16, 2026
[NOTE: The New York Times reported Thursday that Paxton recently bought three condominiums at a luxury resort in Utah, expanding his real estate portfolio to “at least 15 properties worth about $9 million.”]
Addressing the proposed debates, Libertarian candidate Ted Brown replied to Talarico: “It would even be better to include the third candidate in the race, Libertarian Ted Brown, but Paxton and other Republicans never want to debate Libertarians, since we call them out for never reducing the size of government like they promise in every election.”
[NOTE: If he declines, Paxton wouldn’t be the first Trump-endorsed candidate to opt out of debates. In June, Trump pick Ed Gallrein skipped several opportunities to debate Republican incumbent U.S. Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) and won the GOP primary by 10 points.]