Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico challenged Republican Ken Paxton to a Fox News debate, proposing Bret Baier as moderator. Talarico said Paxton's campaign declined three local TV invitations; it had not responded to USA TODAY's question about the challenge.
Talarico made the challenge Sept. 24 at The Texas Tribune Festival. WFAA reported Sept. 22 that station management had been trying for weeks to arrange a potential debate, but the campaign had not answered messages since Aug. 24. WFAA also reported that Talarico accepted three debate invitations: one in South Texas, one in Dallas hosted by WFAA, and one in Austin.
