{"id":463556,"date":"2026-10-12T08:12:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T08:12:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/463556\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T08:12:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T08:12:26","slug":"paxton-vs-talarico-they-agree-on-the-cowboys-but-not-much-else","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/463556\/","title":{"rendered":"Paxton vs. Talarico: They agree on the Cowboys but not much else"},"content":{"rendered":"

Republican\u00a0Ken Paxton<\/a> and Democrat James Talarico <\/a>don\u2019t agree on much. But on that most Texas of obsessions, football, the Senate contenders are on the same\u00a0team: both are Dallas Cowboys<\/a> fans.<\/p>\n

They have a fondness for Lone Star history, too, and a love for homegrown country singers. Beyond that, they often go their separate ways.<\/p>\n

Even on the lighter stuff, political caution can creep in. Ask them where Texans eat best, and suddenly a simple answer isn\u2019t so simple.<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

Still, there\u2019s more to a candidate than ads, policies and attacks.<\/p>\n

\"Attorney<\/p>\n

Attorney General Ken Paxton and state Rep. James Talarico, rivals for the Senate.<\/p>\n

The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n

As voters mull their choices ahead of the November election, The Dallas Morning News asked Paxton, the attorney general, and Talarico, a state representative from Austin, about their interests away from the campaign trail.<\/p>\n

Combined with responses in other interviews, their picks ranged from sports and movies to music and books. Here\u2019s the rundown:<\/p>\n

Most iconic Texan of all time?<\/p>\n

\"Samuel\"Former<\/p>\n

Sam Houston, left, the Texas Revolution hero and first elected president of the Republic of Texas. Former President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Texas-born architect of the Great Society and landmark civil rights legislation.<\/p>\n

Paxton: Davy Crockett or Sam Houston. \u201cOne died defending the Alamo, and the other led the Texan army to victory at San Jacinto. Both taught me never to stop fighting for Texas and America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

\"Play\"Can<\/p>\n

Can you match these Texas favorites to Texas Senate candidates?<\/p>\n

Azul Sordo Ortiz Hernan, The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n

Talarico: President Lyndon B. Johnson. \u201cLBJ has a lot to teach us in this moment. He was able to marry two things that are kind of pitted against each other in our politics. One is a bold imagination for what\u2019s possible, and a practical politics of winning, of making it happen. \u2026 LBJ showed us that you can bring those two\u00a0things together to transform the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Personal pet peeve?<\/p>\n

Paxton: \u201cAs a lawyer, improper grammar will always be my biggest pet peeve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talarico: \u201cMovie trailers are too long. \u2026 I mean the trailers themselves, they are giving away the entire plot of the movie. Like you watch the trailer, and you\u2019re like, I just saw the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

Texas city with the best food?<\/p>\n

Paxton: \u201cEvery city has great food, but if I had to pick one, it would be Dallas\u2013Fort Worth. You can get world-class brisket, great Tex-Mex and a good chicken-fried steak within a 20-minute drive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talarico: \u201cMy first scandal in this campaign was the very first week\u2026I was asked by a reporter which Texas city had the best food? I didn\u2019t say my hometown of Austin. I didn\u2019t say San Antonio, where I taught school. I didn\u2019t say Dallas-Fort Worth. I said the city of Houston. \u2026 I\u2019ve learned my lesson, and my answer is pass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barbecue or Tex-Mex?<\/p>\n

Paxton: \u201cBarbecue \u2013 but give me Tex-Mex in South Texas, and I might change my answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

Talarico: \u201cIt\u2019s a false choice. Put those two things together, barbacoa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Favorite Texas sports moment?<\/p>\n

\"ORG\"Vince<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, left, in 1974. Longhorns quarterback Vince Young after the University of Texas won the national championship over USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl.<\/p>\n

Paxton: Quarterback Roger Staubach\u2019s Hail Mary pass against Minnesota in the 1975 playoffs. \u201cHe gave the play its name, and Cowboys fans have been praying ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talarico: The Longhorns quarterback Vince Young, running for the game-winning touchdown that gave the University of Texas the national championship over USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl.<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

Cowboys or Texans?<\/p>\n

Paxton: \u201cCowboys. I\u2019ve lived through a lot of heartbreak, but I\u2019m a believer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talarico: \u201cThis is where I make it up to Dallas-Fort Worth. I grew up and remain a big Dallas Cowboys fan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mavs or Spurs?<\/p>\n

\"Dallas\"Spurs'<\/p>\n

Former Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, left, and the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan.<\/p>\n

Paxton: \u201cMavs, even if they\u2019ve made a few trades I\u2019d rather forget.”<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

Talarico: San Antonio Spurs. Hall of Famer Tim Duncan is his favorite player of all time, he said at a Spurs watch party.<\/p>\n

Favorite Texas movie?<\/p>\n

\""THE\"American<\/p>\n

John Wayne, left, stars as Davy Crockett in the 1960 movie “The Alamo.” James Dean as petroleum worker Jett Rink in the 1956 movie “Giant.”<\/p>\n

Paxton: The Alamo, the 1960 version with John Wayne. \u201cIt\u2019s a classic about standing your ground for freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talarico: Giant. \u201cGreat movie, long movie, back when movies had intermissions, which I think we should bring back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Favorite book?<\/p>\n

Paxton: The Bible. \u201cIt\u2019s the book I read most and the one I turn to for strength, wisdom and guidance. No book has gotten me through more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talarico: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. \u201cTexas has gotten a bad rap given the extremism and the corruption people have seen coming out of our state. But if you wanna know what Texas is all about, friendship and individualism and freedom and community, adventure, innovation, like all of that is in this one story\u201d<\/p>\n

Favorite musician?<\/p>\n

\"Austin,\"Willie<\/p>\n

Tenor Andrea Bocelli, left, on stage in 2016 in Austin. Willie Nelson performs in 2017 at Dallas’ Granada Theater.<\/p>\n

Paxton: \u201cGeorge Strait or Andrea Bocelli, depending what the day calls for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Favorite song?<\/p>\n

\"Singer\/Songwriter\"Kacey<\/p>\n

Porter Howell of Little Texas, left, at a 2010 concert in Alabama. Kacey Musgraves at a 2013 festival in Tennessee.<\/p>\n

Paxton: \u201cGod Blessed Texas\u201d by Little Texas.<\/p>\n

Talarico: Kacey Musgraves\u2019 \u201cMerry Go \u2018Round.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Republican\u00a0Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico don\u2019t agree on much. But on that most Texas of obsessions, football,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103],"class_list":["post-463556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=463556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/463557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=463556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=463556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=463556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}