Texas State Rep. James Talarico (D), who is running against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) for the Senate seat currently held by John Cornyn, called Paxton to invite him to a debate on Fox News. Talarico reported that Paxton, who is running with President Trump’s endorsement, didn’t pick up the phone, so he recorded the voice message he left for Paxton.
Talarico said: “Texans start voting in less than one month, and they deserve to hear from both of us before they do. I’ve accepted 4 local TV debates, but we haven’t heard from you, and we’re running out of time.”
The Democrat added, “If Fox News is where you’ll be most comfortable, I’ll be there because I think it’s that important. Bret Baier can moderate, we can both take questions and Texans can hear from us directly.”
Ken Paxton keeps dodging debates.
So I called his cell to invite him to a debate on Fox News.
He didn’t pick up. pic.twitter.com/EnaNREE6pH
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) September 25, 2026
Paxton is not the only Trump-endorsed candidate showing no inclination to debate their opponents before the midterm elections. Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) recently refused to debate Democratic rival Abdul El-Sayed on Detroit’s Fox 2, citing moderator bias.
Trump-endorsed U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who’s running for governor of Tennessee, said she wouldn’t debate Democratic nominee Jerri Green because she doesn’t want to give airtime to a “socialist” candidate. [NOTE: Green is not a socialist.]
