James Talarico Challenged Ken Paxton To A Debate On Fox News. Neither Will Respond.
WASHINGTON ― Texas Democratic state Rep. James Talarico has repeatedly asked Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton to publicly debate him in their Senate race, even challenging him to do so on Fox News, the conservative news network.
But Paxton has been ignoring his requests, and now Fox News is, too.
Talarico went viral last week after he challenged Paxton to debate him on Fox News. “Let’s go to Ken Paxton’s safe space. Let’s do Bret Baer on Fox News,” Talarico said to applause at a Thursday event at the Texas Tribune Festival. “I’ll go into the lion’s den, because I know what I believe. I am proud of my record, and I’m not afraid of hard questions.”
The next day, Talarico, who noted Paxton has been “dodging debates all year,” posted a video of himself leaving Paxton a voicemail, inviting him to debate on Fox News.
“I’ve accepted four local TV debates, but we haven’t heard from you, and we’re running out of time,” Talarico says in his message to Paxton. “So if Fox News is where you’ll be most comfortable, I’ll be there, because I think it’s that important. Brett Baer can moderate. We can both take questions, and Texans can hear from us directly.”
It’s been crickets ever since. Talarico’s campaign confirmed to HuffPost on Tuesday that it has “not received any update from Fox News regarding a potential debate.”
A Fox News spokesperson suggested Tuesday the network would host a Texas Senate debate ― if Paxton agreed to it.
“Debates best serve voters and the democratic process when both candidates participate and voters have the opportunity to compare positions on the issues,” the spokesperson told HuffPost in a statement. “We will move forward with the debate if both candidates commit to appearing.”
Paxton’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
It’s understandable why Fox News would want to host a debate between the two ahead of the November elections. Their Senate race is one of the most watched in the country, in part because this once-reliably-safe Republican seat could now flip to Democrats and in part because it could help flip the Senate to Democratic control in November.
In an incredible self-own by the GOP, President Donald Trump meddled in the Republican primary and endorsed Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, who was well positioned to safely hold this seat for another six years. Trump didn’t think Cornyn was loyal enough to him, so he tipped the scales in favor of Paxton, a deeply flawed candidate previously indicted on felony charges, impeached by his own party and who lost a $6.6 million legal battle in 2025 brought by former staff who he fired for reporting him to the FBI for corruption.
Talarico has been leading Paxton in the polls for months, and the GOP has already spent at least $100 million in ads to try to save Paxton ― exponentially more than the party would have spent on Cornyn’s race.
One reason Paxton may be avoiding debates is that when he has done public events, he’s said things that may not help his campaign. During a Monday event hosted by the U.S. Hispanic Business Council, Paxton argued for bringing data centers to Texas, even as recent polling shows bipartisan opposition to such a move among Texas voters.
“There’s plenty of open space in Texas,” Paxton said. “They’re creating a lot of jobs.”
At the same event, the GOP attorney general also said undecided voters in his Senate race should focus on each candidate’s record above all else, apparently oblivious to how problematic his record is.
“Don’t listen to the rhetoric, look at the record,” Paxton advised fence-sitters in his Senate race. “It’s people’s behavior that you need to look at and say, ‘Are they for real?’”