AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico challenged Attorney General Ken Paxton to a debate on Fox News Thursday, saying he is willing to face his Republican opponent on “his home turf.”

Speaking with Texas Tribune Editor-in-Chief Matthew Watkins at TribFest 2026 in downtown Austin, Talarico said Paxton has “been dodging debates all year.”

“His handler in July said, ‘Of course we’re going to debate,’ and then they declined three different invitations from local Texas TV stations,” Talarico said.

Talarico proposed a debate moderated by Fox News anchor Bret Baier.

“Let’s go to Ken Paxton’s safe space. Let’s do Bret Baier on Fox News,” Talarico said. “I’ll go into the lion’s den because I know what I believe. I am proud of my record, and I’m not afraid of hard questions.”

“Texans deserve answers to their questions,” Talarico said. “Texans deserve to make an informed choice in this really critical race. So I’m challenging Ken Paxton to a game on his home turf. He’s been running from accountability his whole life, and it’s time to stop running.”

Paxton’s campaign said in July it planned to debate Talarico but had not committed to a host, according to The Texas Tribune. In a statement, Paxton senior adviser Nick Maddux said, “Of course we are going to debate James Talarico and we look forward to engaging with potential debate hosts.”

Talarico said his campaign has been reaching out to television stations for the past two or three months because it wants a debate.

“I think Texans deserve to see both candidates that are seeking to represent them in Washington compete and debate ideas and compare records and ask each other questions,” Talarico said. “I just think that is the bare minimum that voters should expect in a democracy.”

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The race for Texas’ open U.S. Senate seat remains close. An Emerson College Polling survey conducted Sept. 12-14 among 1,000 likely Texas voters found Talarico leading Paxton 47% to 46%. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Talarico said he remains hopeful Paxton will agree to a debate.

“I’m still holding out hope that Ken Paxton will accept an invitation to debate, even if it’s on Fox News,” Talarico said.