Texas Senate Race: Poll Shows Talarico Ahead of Paxton as Classroom Story Is Questioned
Photo: The Guardian USA new poll shows Democrat James Talarico leading Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race, while a Wednesday New York Times report said school records and teachers from the time did not back up Talarico's account of his first teaching job. Talarico says he had 45 students in one classroom, some without desks, when he taught language arts at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio. His campaign website says the Texas Legislature had just cut the public education budget by $5 billion and that some students sat on an air conditioning unit. The site still carries the story. RNC research noted that it resembles one President Barack Obama told at a Las Vegas high school in August 2012, when he described a teacher with 45 students and too few desks. Democrats have not won statewide office in Texas in 30 years, and Elon Musk's millions are being spent in the race. The poll looks at how voters weigh immigration and Trump administration policies.
The left-leaning outlets, The Guardian US and CBS News, focus on the race's competitiveness. The Guardian's video follows Talarico and Paxton around San Antonio and asks whether the seat is really up for grabs, how Musk's money affects it and whether voters have changed their minds on Trump. CBS's headline leads with Talarico ahead, and its correspondent Camilo Montoya-Galvez reviews the poll and voter views on immigration. Neither excerpt mentions the classroom claim. The right-leaning Daily Wire leads with that claim, calling it questionable and strangely similar to Obama's 2012 story. It quotes Obama and Talarico's website at length and cites the Times and RNC research, with no polling or Musk. Both sides center on Talarico against Paxton, but they differ on what matters: the left stresses polls, money and Trump, the right stresses his credibility. Alternative and independent outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left- and right-leaning outlets had.
How the sides differ Left sources stress polling and Musk's money; right sources stress Talarico's classroom claim; alternative sources have not covered it.
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The Guardian US and CBS News frame the race as competitive, citing a poll showing Talarico ahead, Musk's spending, immigration and voter attitudes toward Trump, with reporters following both candidates in San Antonio.
Not covering this story. None of the alternative or independent outlets Crosswire tracks has reported it yet. What one side leaves out can be as telling as what the others report.
The Daily Wire leads with Talarico's classroom story, citing The New York Times and RNC research and comparing it with Obama's 2012 remarks and Talarico's campaign website.