The Daily Populous Friday July 17th, 2026 night edition
Authored by usatoday.com and submitted by IWantPizza555

July 16, 2026, 12:45 p.m. ET

Texas state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, has challenged state Attorney General Ken Paxton to three televised debates ahead of the November general election. Paxton's campaign says he will debate Talarico.

Talarico's campaign announced on July 16 that the Democratic candidate had accepted three debate invitations and called on Paxton to do the same, as both are vying to replace U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.

“Ken Paxton’s billionaire handlers won’t let him answer questions in public. It’s why he hasn’t set foot on a debate stage in over a decade," Talarico said, "But I want him to prove me wrong. I’m challenging Ken Paxton to three televised debates. I’ll be on that debate stage because I answer to the people of Texas."

Nick Maddux, a Paxton advisor, told USA TODAY that Paxton would debate Talarico and looks "forward to engaging with potential debate hosts," though Maddux stopped short of confirming Paxton would accept the three specific invitations Talarico named.

"James Talarico isn’t just out of touch. He’s a dangerous radical whose record and agenda is so toxic and extreme that he has to hide it behind carefully scripted lies," Maddux's statement read. "We look forward to voters getting to learn about the real James Talarico.”

When and where are the Texas Senate Debates?

The three debates Talarico said he accepted are:

Nexstar Media Group and KXAN News.

It was not immediately clear when and where the debates would be happening or whether they would be filmed in front of an audience.

What do recent Texas Senate polls show?

A New York Times/Siena poll, published on Tuesday, June 30, shows Republican candidate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton tied at 47% with Democratic candidate Texas state Rep. James Talarico.

The poll comes after a June 23 poll from the University of Texas and the Texas Politics Project last week showed Paxton at 43% and Talarico at 42%, a 1-point gap within the survey's margin of error.

Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.

otherwisepandemonium on July 16th, 2026 at 17:36 UTC »

Talarico would crush Paxton in a debate. I love how scared Republicans are of him. Talarico is the best thing to happen to Texas in a long time and I hope he wins.

FalstaffsGhost on July 16th, 2026 at 17:34 UTC »

And when Paxton says no, Talarico should do what Ossoff did in Georgia and just debate the empty podium.

Gay_Giraffe_1773 on July 16th, 2026 at 17:30 UTC »

And Ken will agree to none.