SerpApi.Org
FORT WORTH – Republican Ken Paxton talked about crime, flanked by law officers. Democrat James Talarico talked about children, surrounded by preschoolers.
The contrasting messages unfolded Tuesday as the Senate rivals campaigned in North Texas, a voter-rich region critical to both campaigns in one of the nation's most closely watched races.
With Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn and 21 other law enforcement leaders, Paxton, the attorney general, accused Talarico of trying to obscure a legislative record that would make "Texans less safe."
Paxton said Talarico, a state representative from Austin, had voted to weaken qualified immunity for police officers and opposed enhanced penalties for organized crime, tighter bail restrictions and mandatory minimum sentences for human smugglers.
He also said Talarico donated to the Austin Justice Coalition in 2020, when the group was pushing to "defund police."
"Those are not the positions of someone committed to public safety," Paxton said. "These policies would make our communities less safe. They would make law enforcement's job more difficult."
Paxton pointed to his work creating teams focused on human trafficking, organized crime, cold cases and missing persons.
Talarico campaign spokesman JT Ennis said Paxton had distorted Talarico's record.
He said Talarico opposes defunding the police, supported legislation denying bail to people accused of violent crimes and has voted for billions of dollars in law enforcement funding.
Child care plan
Earlier Tuesday, Talarico visited Green Space Nature Preschool in Fort Worth to tout his support of lower property taxes and joined a class planting shrubs. He said affordable child care allows more parents to work and strengthens the economy.
Talarico sponsored legislation that allowed counties to provide property tax exemptions for qualifying child care centers. Audrey Rowland, the preschool's owner, said the tax relief enabled Green Space to remain open.
Talarico's Senate plan calls for expanding federal support for child care providers, tax credits for working families, Head Start funding and incentives for businesses that provide child care to employees.
"I'm the only candidate in this race who actually has a track record of lowering costs for working Texans," he said. "We need leaders who cut taxes and drive down costs for small businesses and working families – not politicians like Ken Paxton who only cut taxes for their billionaire mega donors."
Voting scrutiny
At the event, Paxton declined to discuss a complaint accusing him of violating state election law. Asked about a report that he voted in recent elections using a Collin County address where he no longer lived, Paxton said, "We're just going to do questions on law enforcement today."
The Collin County Democratic Party filed the complaint last week with the secretary of state after The Texas Tribune and ProPublica reported that Paxton had voted in six elections over the past two years while registered at the Collin County home he once shared with his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton. Her divorce filing says he moved out in June 2024.
Paxton's campaign previously said he is "in full compliance with the law."
Ennis, the Talarico spokesman, chided Paxton for not addressing the allegations.
"If Paxton can't answer these simple questions, what is he planning to do in a debate?" Ennis said.
Meanwhile, Talarico debuted "Waking Up," his second major TV ad of the general election. The 30-second spot will air in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso and Harlingen-McAllen markets.
The ad shows Talarico driving through the Texas Hill Country as he talks about being raised by a single mother, teaching in a poor community and working with Republicans in the Legislature to reduce drug costs and property taxes.
"As a teacher, I saw families doing everything right and still falling behind," Talarico says in the ad. In the Texas House, I brought both parties together to lower drug costs and cut property taxes."
Talarico has a sizable financial advantage to help carry that message. He raised nearly $30 million over the past three months, more than three times Paxton's roughly $9 million, according to their latest campaign finance reports.
Read this story on dallasnews.com
