Talarico and Paxton Locked in Close Texas Senate Race as Campaign Polling Tightens

Democrat James Talarico, a former middle-school teacher from Austin, is running for the U.S. Senate in Texas against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, and his private polling shows a tighter race than several public surveys, according to a New York Times report published Saturday. A New York Times/Siena poll in September and a CNN/SSRS poll taken Oct. 20 to 27 had Talarico ahead by 6 points, while other recent surveys showed him tied or up 2 points, within the margin of error. A Fox News poll in early October had him ahead 51% to 49%, and a later Fox poll found the two tied at 49. People close to the campaign said internal polling may not fully capture rural conservative voters who back Donald Trump. Luke Warford, chairman of the Travis County Democratic Party, said Talarico has at most a 50 percent chance of winning. No Democrat has won a Texas Senate seat in 38 years. Talarico openly professes his Christian faith.

Right-leaning coverage splits between data and denunciation. Breitbart leads with the Times report, stacking poll numbers, Warford's quote and Paxton's strength among rural, evangelical and older voters, which frames the race as closer than Democrats admit. Townhall runs an opinion column invoking the Alamo defenders and calling Talarico a traitor unfit for the Senate, using charged language about his views and offering no polling. Left-leaning Raw Story focuses on a different matter: its headline says supporters of Trump erupted over a picture of Talarico with his niece and casts the backlash as a reason Republicans lost Texas. The excerpt gives no further detail. Both sides treat Talarico as a serious contender. France 24 offers a distinct international angle, stressing his Christian faith and his appeal to some Trump voters.