Paxton’s barbecue – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has challenged Democratic state Rep. James Talarico to meet for a barbecue lunch to “see” how much he loves barbecue—an exchange Talarico is turning back into a pointed question about Paxton’s handling of a child sex abuse cas
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton picked a barbecue restaurant as the stage for his fight with Democratic state Rep. James Talarico—then watched the challenge turn into something broader and uglier than a food test.
On June 13, Paxton stood alongside right-wing podcaster and conspiracy theorist Benny Johnson and threw down what he framed as a man-to-man gauntlet. “Let’s meet at a barbecue restaurant and let’s see how, how much you love barbecue. Let’s, let’s have a real barbecue lunch,” Paxton said.
Tuesday night, Talarico responded by posting a video to social media. In it, he rejected the premise and instead demanded answers tied to Paxton’s record.
Talarico’s campaign message said he would meet Paxton “at any time and any place” if Paxton would answer Texans’ questions about why he “let admitted child sex offender Adam Hoffman walk free.”
Hoffman, as described by the Dallas Morning News, is a Waco attorney who “avoided felony convictions and sex offender registration after being accused of sexually abusing a boy for three years on sleepovers when the boy was between the ages of 6 and 10.”
That exchange—barbecue in one corner, a child sex abuse case in the other—has laid bare how this November contest is being contested. Paxton’s team has leaned into the idea that Talarico is somehow not fit to represent Texas because of claims that he is vegan. Talarico has made clear he is not.
The simmering tension is not just about food. It’s about what the public is being asked to focus on while the race for a U.S. Senate seat is taking shape.
Paxton is also challenging Talarico on questions of masculinity, framing the dispute around what he implies Talarico lacks. But the push has met resistance, with Talarico’s camp turning the public attention away from appetite and back toward governance and accountability.
The fight now moves forward with the same fork in the road: Paxton wants a barbecue lunch to settle a cultural argument, while Talarico is using the spotlight to press for answers on Adam Hoffman and Paxton’s handling of the case.
As the campaign heads toward November, the spectacle around barbecue—whether anyone can “prove” a love of brisket—has become the headline moment. And the harder question hanging behind it is whether voters will stay there, or demand the kind of answers Talarico says they deserve.
Ken Paxton James Talarico Texas politics U.S. Senate race barbecue challenge Benny Johnson Adam Hoffman child sex abuse case Waco attorney election 2024
Barbecue fights are the new politics now I guess.
So wait Paxton challenged him to lunch like that proves something? And then it’s about a child offender?? This is gross. Why not just answer the questions instead of trying to flex brisket.
I heard “Hoffman” and immediately thought this was some restaurant guy or something lol. But apparently it’s a sex offender case?? Either way, the vegan thing seems like a distraction, but they’re all distractions at this point.
The whole Benny Johnson part makes me think Paxton is just doing a stunt with his buddies. If there’s paperwork about letting someone “walk free,” that’s way more important than whether Talarico can eat barbecue without complaining. Also “masculinity” as an attack is weird like… pick a lane. I don’t even know if I trust Paxton’s side OR Talarico’s side, they both sound messy.