Texas Democrat James Talarico took center stage alone Wednesday night in a CNN and Jubilee co-hosted town hall, using the solo appearance to pressure his Republican opponent, Ken Paxton, into a head-to-head debate in their closely watched Senate contest.
Talarico, a state lawmaker and Presbyterian seminarian, struck a unifying tone, telling the audience that “we’re all on the same team” and urging politicians to “work together” on pressing issues like border security, the rapid expansion of data centers, and the economic strain on Texas families. He also pledged to “stand up to my own party” while answering questions on faith, abortion, and his past controversial remarks.
The event came as Talarico leads Paxton by roughly 2.5 points in the latest midterm turnout dynamics that could shape control of Congress. CNN’s Erin Burnett noted that Paxton had been offered a slot but declined, with the invitation still open—despite President Trump urging the attorney general to debate.
“You may have noticed that I haven’t talked about my opponent at all tonight because I don’t want people to vote … just against Ken Paxton. I want them to vote for me,” Talarico said near the end of the 90-minute program. “But the last thing I will say is that we are running against the most corrupt politician in Texas.”
Addressing his recent absence from the trail due to the flu, Talarico dismissed conspiracy theories that had spread online. “I think the responsible thing to do when you have something like the flu is to stay at home and not get other people sick,” he told Burnett. “That decision to stay home for a week sent my opponent and his conspiracy theorists spiraling. I opened up social media and learned that I apparently had dropped out of the race, had flown to a mental hospital in Ohio, that I had died. This is crazy.”
He also pushed back on past comments, including a 2020 remark calling capitalism an “oppressive system.” “I was talking about the system we have now, which is actually not capitalism; it’s crony capitalism,” he said, clarifying his current “proud capitalist” stance. On his 2021 claim that “God is nonbinary,” Talarico defended it as provocative but theologically defensible, citing thinkers like the late Pope Benedict.
Faith dominated the conversation, with Talarico saying “the cross is the shape of reality … at the center of our shared faith.” When an independent voter pressed him on abortion, he argued for common ground: “What I think we can do is actually come together on reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies and the number of abortions, because if we treat this issue as a public health problem and not a culture war problem, then we can actually make progress together.”
Running a blue campaign in deep-red Texas, Talarico stressed independence from national Democrats. “I am not running for the U.S. Senate to represent New York or California. I’m not running for the U.S. Senate to represent the Democratic Party. I am running for Senate to represent all 31 million Texans, and I will, I will, I will always do what’s best for Texas, even if that means standing up to my own party.”
The race has drawn national attention, with Republicans holding their first-ever midterm convention in Dallas and Trump making multiple visits to boost Paxton. A leaked audio clip quoted Paxton saying the convention “dropped our numbers,” and recent polls show Talarico ahead. The GOP’s Senate campaign arm responded to the town hall, but Talarico’s team is betting on momentum in a state where Democrats haven’t won statewide in decades. As similar competitive Senate races emerge nationwide, Texas remains a key battleground.
