A recent public opinion poll shows United States Senate Candidate James Talarico holds a three-point lead over Attorney General Ken Paxton, leaving some to wonder whether the long-held Republican Senate seat could flip this November.
The poll, conducted last week, showed 68% of independent voters and 98% of Democrats support Talarico, while about 89% of Republicans are backing Paxton. The survey comes after the two candidates spent months running neck and neck, prompting even Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) to warn Republicans that Talarico should not be underestimated.
Although there is still time for the race to shift by election day, Talarico has called for three televised debates against Paxton.
“The networks have already set the dates and the times and the locations,” Talarico told MS Now last week. “We're just waiting on Ken Paxton.”
Paxton has also drawn criticism for sidestepping reporters' questions about whether he will participate in the debates and other controversies surrounding his campaign, at times walking away rather than responding.
“I get it. If I had Ken Paxton's record of corruption, I wouldn't want to answer these questions either,” Talarico said. “But he's asking for your vote and your trust — and the people of Texas deserve answers.”
But Talarico has not only focused his campaign on attacking his opponent. The Texas State Representative has also been traveling across the state over the last few months, emphasizing affordability, public education and healthcare in his messaging.
Following the release of the poll, U.S. Representative Christian Menefee (D-TX) took to X to highlight another encouraging sign for Talarico: his support from 87% of Black voters, a demographic the state representative has made a key focus of his campaign.
“Democrats *need* to win this race to protect voting rights, reform the Supreme Court, expand healthcare as a right and put money in working people’s pockets,” Rep. Menefee said. “We. Can. Win. Texas.”
