Overview
- Talarico publicly accepted invitations from multiple Texas news organizations to take part in three televised statewide debates and Paxton’s campaign confirmed it received the same invitations and said he plans to debate.
- A tense exchange at a Sunday Houston town hall, when attendee Kandice Webber told Talarico “Black people don’t trust you,” prompted the candidate to pledge $25 million for Black voter outreach and to hold listening events across the state.
- Polling continues to show the Senate contest in a statistical dead heat while Talarico holds a fundraising edge driven by small donors and large outside gifts to allied groups.
- Paxton has emphasized law‑and‑order events with sheriffs to press Talarico on policing and repeatedly declined to answer questions about his own property and ethics reporting during a Fort Worth press appearance.
- The race’s outcome could hinge on turnout among Black, Latino and independent voters and on whether national Republican groups use recent legal pathways to coordinate spending and close Paxton’s cash gap.