James Talarico Launches Texas Senate Bid Against Ken Paxton After 24-Hour GOP Runoff
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 28
James Talarico Launches Texas Senate Bid Against Ken Paxton After 24-Hour GOP Runoff
11 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 28
Hundreds of Democrats packed a Houston nightclub Wednesday as state Rep. James Talarico opened his U.S. Senate campaign less than 24 hours after Ken Paxton won the Republican nomination.
The race moved immediately into general-election mode, with both camps trading personal and ideological attacks over who is outside the Texas mainstream.
Talarico targeted Paxton's legal troubles, including a securities-fraud indictment that was later settled and a Republican-led impeachment that ended in acquittal in the Texas Senate.
Paxton answered by attacking Talarico over cultural issues, falsely calling him a vegan and reviving his 2021 remark that there are six biological sexes.
The opening clash signals a rancorous Senate contest in Texas after Republicans' bitter runoff between Paxton and Sen. John Cornyn.
Can a record-breaking grassroots fundraising effort challenge decades of established political dominance in a statewide election?