State Rep. James Talarico, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
Richard Rodriguez, Anna Moneymaker
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Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton remain in a virtual tie in the race for U.S. Senate as the start of early voting brings statewide candidates to Fort Worth.
Talarico leads Paxton by 2 points and has crossover support from 6% of Republicans in the poll of 2,000 likely voters conducted Oct. 10-14 by the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs. But the overall 2-point margin is within the margin of error of 2.19 points.
The only other race in a virtual tie is Westover Hills Republican Bo French’s campaign for one of three seats on the Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas. French leads Houston Democrat Jon Rosenthal by 2 points.
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James Talarico technically has a 2-point lead but that’s within the margin of error in the race for U.S. Senate. Hobby School of Public Affairs/University of Houston
Gov. Greg Abbott has a 3-point lead in his re-election campaign over Austin Democrat Gina Hinojosa. Other Republicans lead by 5-7 points.
Abbott, Paxton and Talarico scheduled Oct. 19 appearances in Fort Worth on the first day of early voting:
• Abbott chose the Old Texas Brewing Co. in west Fort Worth for a lunchtime rally with state Rep. John McQueeney, facing a challenge from Democrat Beth Llewellyn McLaughlin.
• Talarico announced an evening rally at North Crowley High School in southwest Fort Worth.
• That 7 p.m. event was set to compete directly with a Paxton rally featuring Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the T&P Station rail station ballroom downtown.
Gov. Greg Abbott leads state Rep. Gina Hinojosa by 3 points in the race for Texas governor. Hobby School of Public Affairs/University of Houston
The Talarico-Paxton race has tightened and the candidates have been in a virtual tie in five major polls released since Oct. 11.
Talarico had a thin lead or was tied for the lead in four of those five polls.
In 2024, the same October poll by the University of Houston showed U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz beating Dallas Democrat Colin Allred by 4 points. Cruz went on to win by 8.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Bud Kennedy is a Fort Worth Star-Telegram opinion columnist. In a 54-year Texas newspaper career, he has covered two Super Bowls, a presidential inauguration, seven national political conventions and 19 Texas Legislature sessions..
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