Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico has challenged Republican Ken Paxton to debate him on Fox News.
Talarico first made the challenge during a Sept. 24 interview at The Texas Tribune Festival, saying Paxton had declined multiple debate invitations from local Texas TV stations. He also issued a statement following his comments.
“Ken Paxton has been dodging debates all year. That’s why today, I’m challenging Ken Paxton to a debate on Fox News,” Talarico said. “His handler in July said, ‘Of course we’re going to debate.’ And then they declined three different invitations from local Texas TV stations.”
USA TODAY has reached out to the Paxton campaign to ask whether he will accept Talarico’s debate challenge but has not received a response. It is also unclear whether Paxton has agreed to participate in any other debates.
WFAA reported Sept. 22 that station management had been in contact with the Paxton campaign for weeks to arrange a potential debate, but the campaign had not responded to messages since Aug. 24.
Talarico accepted invitations to three debates, WFAA reported: one in South Texas, one hosted by WFAA in Dallas and a third in Austin.
Talarico said Fox News would provide a “safe space” for Paxton and proposed debating with Bret Baier as moderator.
“I’ll go into the lion’s den because I know what I believe,” Talarico said. “I am proud of my record, and I’m not afraid of hard questions. Ken Paxton is running from a fight.”
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Natassia Paloma may be reached at npaloma@gannett.com, @NatassiaPaloma on X, natassia_paloma on Instagram, and Natassia Paloma on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Talarico says he’ll debate Paxton on Fox News
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