James Talarico Leaves Voicemail Inviting Ken Paxton to Debate

James Talarico, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, left a voicemail for Republican Ken Paxton inviting him to debate. The voicemail was posted in a 40-second video on X on September 25, after Talarico had previously mentioned his willingness to debate Paxton on Fox News during an interview at The Texas Tribune Festival. In the voicemail, Talarico stated, "Texans start voting in less than a month and they deserve to hear from both of us before they do. We haven't heard from you and we're running out of time." USA TODAY has contacted the Paxton campaign for a response regarding the debate challenge but has not received a reply. It remains unclear if Paxton has agreed to participate in any debates. WFAA reported on September 22 that the station management had been in touch with the Paxton campaign for weeks to arrange a potential debate, but there had been no communication from the campaign since August 24. Meanwhile, Paxton is scheduled to continue his "Protecting the Texas Promise" tour in El Paso on September 30, alongside Brandon Herrera, the Republican nominee for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District. The tour promotes Paxton’s economic plan aimed at increasing affordability, which he claims would save Texans thousands of dollars.