Texas Senate Race Tight as Paxton and Talarico Make Closing Arguments

Republican Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, and Democrat James Talarico made closing arguments Saturday in a tossup U.S. Senate race in Texas that could shape the rest of Donald Trump's second term. A New York Times report published Saturday said Talarico's private polling shows a closer race than the public surveys that gave him a lead. A New York Times/Siena poll in September and a CNN/SSRS poll taken Oct. 20 to 27 had Talarico up 6 points, while other recent surveys show a tie or a 2-point Talarico lead within the margin of error. A Fox News poll in early October had him ahead 51% to 49%, and a later one had both at 49. Luke Warford, chairman of the Travis County Democratic Party, said Talarico has at most a 50 percent chance. People close to the campaign said internal polls may undercount rural conservative Trump voters. Elsewhere, Ohio has a Senate special election, a governor's race and an open attorney general contest.

Right-leaning outlets split their focus. Breitbart leads with the Times report on Talarico's internal polls, listing the poll numbers, Warford's 50 percent estimate and Paxton's strength among rural voters, white evangelicals and people 65 and older. It also notes that Talarico needs heavy Latino turnout. The Daily Signal looks away from Texas to Ohio's attorney general race, treating it as a down-ballot contest that could be tricky with a Republican president in office. The alternative outlet AP takes a different angle. It describes Texas as an unexpected epicenter and, in its headline, says Republicans are on defense there while Michigan Democrats are divided. Left-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while right-leaning and alternative outlets had.