Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said Democrats have a chance at locking down a Senate seat in Texas after state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) recent victory in a runoff.
“Paxton will now face off against State [Rep.] James Talarico. Democrats have not won a Texas Senate seat, as you know, in more than 30 years. How confident are you that Democrats can actually win this race?” NBC News’s Kristen Welker asked Beshear on “Meet the Press.”
“Listen, Texas is in play. Democrats have never run against a candidate like Ken Paxton that is so corrupt that his own party impeached him,” Beshear replied.
The Kentucky governor later said that Paxton “would use his office to enrich himself, that would be a rubber stamp for the president and would do nothing for the people of Texas.”
“He has shown that as AG. He cannot be the next U.S. Senator there. And James Talarico is out there. He is spreading his message about being there for American families, about putting them ahead of the politics, about bringing down prices, expanding access to health care, making sure they feel safe in their community,” Beshear continued.
Paxton, who got a last-minute endorsement from President Trump, defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican runoff for Senate in Texas on Tuesday. The result set up a fiery general election between Paxton and Talarico.
A significant amount of money has been predicted to pour into Texas, with Democrats looking toward a possible flip against the embattled Paxton, who has been dogged by scandal. He faced an impeachment in the Texas House on corruption charges before he was later acquitted in the Texas Senate three years ago.
The Hill has reached out to Paxton’s campaign for comment.
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