Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Texas’ closely watched U.S. Senate race, Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton has so far declined invitations to debate his rival, Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, following a primary season in which the scandal-plagued GOP candidate also refused to debate incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. That said, Talarico has a new offer on the table.
Talarico on Thursday challenged Paxton to a debate on Fox News, saying he’s undeterred by the network’s role in Republican politics.
“Texans deserve to make an informed choice in this really critical race, so I’m challenging Ken Paxton to a game on his own turf,” Talarico said at the Texas Tribune Festival. “He’s been running from accountability his whole life. It’s time to stop running.”
Time will tell whether Paxton accepts the invitation, but in the meantime, former Republican state Rep. Glenn Rogers is the latest star of a Talarico ad, which began airing this week.
“I’ll never trust Ken Paxton; I’ll never support Ken Paxton; and the last place he should be is the United States Senate,” Rogers, who voted to impeach Paxton in 2023, says in the commercial.
* In Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race, Rep. Tom Tiffany’s Republican campaign is apparently borrowing a page from the White House’s media strategy, barring a reporter for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel from an event this week.
* In Maine’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, the latest University of New Hampshire poll showed Democrat Troy Jackson ahead of incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, 51% to 47%.
* And in New Hampshire’s U.S. Senate race, the latest University of New Hampshire poll finds Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas leading former Republican Sen. John Sununu, 50% to 42%.
* Speaking of New England, Vermont’s Republican governor, Phil Scott, has easily won five times, but the latest University of New Hampshire poll actually shows him trailing Democrat Amanda Janoo by six points.
* California’s gubernatorial race is on track for a lopsided finish: Two statewide polls this week showed Democrat Xavier Becerra ahead of Republican Steve Hilton by more than 20 points.
* Elsewhere in the Golden State: Remember when Chad Bianco, the Republican sheriff of Riverside County, seized hundreds of thousands of ballots earlier this year as part of a weird investigation into voter fraud? The California Supreme Court this week ordered Bianco to return the ballots and ruled that he lacked the legal authority to launch such a gambit.
The post Friday’s Campaign Round-Up, 9.25.26: Talarico offers to debate Paxton on Fox appeared first on MS NOW.
