GOP lawmaker says Paxton must debate Talarico to win Texas

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) said Wednesday that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) must debate his opponent, Democratic nominee James Talarico, to win the state’s Senate election.

In an interview with Nexstar, which owns The Hill, Sessions was asked whether he supported Paxton’s bid for Senate.

“Of course I do,” the lawmaker said. “He’s running for a competitive position, he’s going to have to be judged on how well he defends himself, his ideas and then be seen on stage vis-à-vis his opponent. That is how you win.”

Answering a follow-up question, Sessions said: “Well, I don’t think he can win without the debate. About 30 percent of the electorate is looking for this to be done.

“They would expect it to be done, and they would expect him to define himself, to stand up for what he believes in, to take the shots at him, and to be able to effectively show the difference between the two candidates. I don’t think there’s any question about that.”

Talarico has repeatedly bashed Paxton for not appearing in debates with him.

“I agreed to 3 debates over a month ago. You declined every single one. You love to talk tough on Fox. Say it to me on the debate stage,” he said in August in a post on social platform X.

Despite having President Trump’s endorsement, Paxton trailed Talarico by 6 points in an August poll from Texas Public Opinion Research.

Paxton has faced several notable scandals, including the Texas state House voting to impeach him on corruption charges — of which the state Senate later acquitted him.

If elected, Talarico would be the first Democrat to win a Texas statewide election in more than three decades.