Texas Senate race heats up as Democratic nominee James Talarico publicly challenges Republican opponent Ken Paxton to a televised debate moderated by Fox News’ Bret Baier. With early voting approaching, Talarico says Texas voters deserve an opportunity to hear directly from both candidates and says he is willing to debate “anywhere” to make it happen. Paxton’s campaign previously said it expected to debate Talarico but had not committed to a debate as of Sept. 24. The high-profile Texas Senate contest remains closely watched, with recent public polling showing a competitive race.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Well, you're right. We have seen an unprecedented amount of money pour into this state just over the last few
00:06weeks because the people at the top are terrified of this movement that we're building.
00:11They are terrified of of people coming together across party, across race and gender and religion and culture to take
00:20on the people at the top who have been screwing all of us over for decades.
00:25And so they're going to do everything they can to cling on to power. And yes, they can write big
00:31checks. They have giant dark money super PACs that can pay for a lot of attack ads.
00:38Big money is powerful. I don't want to sugarcoat it. But I really do believe that it is nothing compared
00:44to people power.
00:44And I think if people I think if if if people get out there and they talk to their neighbors,
00:54if they knock on doors, if they make phone calls, if they send text messages and write postcards, if they
00:59donate what they can.
01:01You know, our campaign is is powered by people who give five, 10, 15 dollars at a time.
01:07If we do that work and we do it together, I really do believe that we are going to shock
01:12the nation and shock the world by beating that big money on November 3rd.
01:16And I think it's going to be such a good thing for our democracy.
01:20Welcome to the Texas Tribune Festival. I am, of course, here excited to be with State Representative James Tallarico, Democratic
01:29nominee for U.S. Senate.
01:34Really glad to have you. I'm going to start by reading some polls. Very exciting.
01:40These are the 10 polls that have come out since September in this race.
01:46Tallarico plus one. Tallarico plus six. Tallarico plus one point two. Tallarico plus one. Tallarico point five. Plus five.
01:56Tallarico plus six. Tallarico plus three. Tallarico plus one point five. Tallarico plus five. Tallarico plus four.
02:05Stallarico plus three. Tallarico plus five. Tallarico plus one. Tallarico plus four.
02:11Parley, this, I have, you know, covered Texas politics enough to be completely disoriented by this. What is going on?
02:18What is happening?
02:18Well, you know, I think we are building a movement across this state that's bigger than any one politician, including
02:27me.
02:28It's bigger than any one political party.
02:31This is working people coming together across the political spectrum, across communities,
02:37to take on a broken, corrupt political system that is holding all of us back.
02:42And I mean, I've traveled every corner of this state over the past year, from Beaumont to El Paso, from
02:53Amarillo to Brownsville,
02:55and everywhere in between, big cities, small towns, red areas, blue areas.
03:00We hold these events.
03:02We have to keep changing venues because we have so much interest in our campaign events.
03:07I stay to the very end.
03:11I shake every hand.
03:13I take every selfie.
03:15I answer every question.
03:16And I can't tell you the number of people who come up to me at the end of these events
03:21and say that they've never voted for a Democrat before,
03:25or the number of young people who come up to me and say it's the first political event they've ever
03:30attended.
03:31And so I think there's something special happening across the state of Texas.
03:35And I really do think that we are going to make history on November 3rd.
03:40And we're going to take on this broken system that has been screwing us over for far too long.
03:47Okay, a couple of housekeeping items before we get really started here.
03:51First of all, as you all know, we'll go for about 45 minutes, 15 minutes at the end for audience
03:55questions.
03:55If you have a question, submit it online, texastribune.org, slash ask.
04:00I think we'll pop up the address on here.
04:03We will get to as many as we can.
04:06I also want to just note, right, you are in a competitive race.
04:09This is an opportunity for interviews to try to understand the candidates and the issues.
04:16We did extend an invitation to Attorney General Paxton.
04:20He has not agreed.
04:23Haven't got an official no yet, so if he's watching, we would still love to have him.
04:27We'll make room.
04:28But excited to have you here.
04:31So we mentioned these numbers.
04:34We mentioned, you know, this is fairly unprecedented in modern Texas politics.
04:41You, you know, since I've been covering politics, having a Democrat in the lead in the polls like this has
04:47just not happened.
04:49That being said, there's, I believe, 40 days until this election, and there is a lot of money pouring into
04:55this state right now.
04:57The latest tally from our reporter, Gabby Bierenbaum, said $162 million in Republican spending, a lot of that coming in
05:05in the last couple weeks.
05:07We can expect a ton of ads.
05:11I suspect a lot of those will be, you know, seeking to contrast you and try to make the case
05:19that you don't align with Texans values.
05:23What's the strategy in this homestretch for you?
05:26Well, you're right.
05:27We have seen an unprecedented amount of money pour into this state just over the last few weeks because the
05:34people at the top are terrified of this movement that we're building.
05:38They are terrified of of people coming together across party, across race and gender and religion and culture to take
05:47on the people at the top who have been screwing all of us over for decades.
05:52And so they're going to do everything they can to cling on to power.
05:56And, yes, they can write big checks.
05:59They have giant dark money super PACs that can pay for a lot of attack ads.
06:05Big money is powerful.
06:06I don't want to sugarcoat it.
06:08But I really do believe that it is nothing compared to people power.
06:11And I think if people I think if if if people get out there and they talk to their neighbors,
06:21if they knock on doors, if they make phone calls, if they send text messages and write postcards, if they
06:26donate what they can.
06:28You know, our campaign is is powered by people who give five, 10, 15 dollars at a time.
06:34If we do that work and we do it together, I really do believe that we are going to shock
06:39the nation and shock the world by beating that big money on November 3rd.
06:43And I think it's going to be such a good thing for our democracy, again, not not a good thing
06:48for the Democratic Party or the Republican Party,
06:50but a good thing for democracy that that the people of this state can stand up to and defeat that
06:57kind of entrenched power and money in our political system.
07:00And so we've got to keep doing the work.
07:03But you're absolutely right.
07:05Is a it is a certainly a challenge that we face on our road to victory in November.
07:10Is it fair to say that in order to win this race, you're going to need to get a significant,
07:15you know, somewhat significant amount of Republicans to cross over and vote for you?
07:20Yeah, I mean, we I think we have to build a big tent.
07:23It's got to be Democrats, independents, Republicans.
07:25It's also got to be people who are fed up and disillusioned with this political system, people who have kind
07:32of tuned out of politics.
07:36Oftentimes, swing voters aren't choosing between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
07:40They are choosing between voting and the couch.
07:45And and those are the voters that I'm trying to reach every day, the younger voters who just feel like
07:50this this whole political system is just hopelessly corrupt, that there's there's nothing that they can do to change things.
07:58I'm not trying to convince them that politics isn't corrupt because it is.
08:01There's way too much influence from from this big money.
08:04What I'm trying to convince them of is is their power to change it.
08:07I'm trying to persuade them of their own power in this democracy.
08:12And and if if you know what we're seeing on the trails in the indication, if the historic youth turnout
08:18in the Democratic primary is in the indication,
08:20I really do think that young Texans in particular are going to flex their political muscle in this election and
08:27they're going to remake this broken political system in their own image.
08:36What what what's the message to a Republican who is on the fence right now?
08:41What do you what do you need or want them to know about you?
08:44Yeah, I mean, you don't have to wonder what kind of senator I'm going to be, because I've served for
08:49four terms in the statehouse and the Texas Tribune has covered the work that I've done in in the legislature.
08:56And I'm very proud of that record.
08:59I brought Democrats and Republicans together to pass 60 bipartisan bills, bills that lower the cost of housing, that lower
09:10the cost of child care,
09:11that lower the cost of prescription drugs, including insulin.
09:15And I think that kind of bipartisan record of accomplishment, that record of delivering for working people is exactly what
09:24most folks,
09:24whether they're Democrats or Republicans, are looking for in their next U.S. senator.
09:29People are just desperate for serious leaders who are going to move past the kind of partisan professional wrestling and
09:37who are going to make a difference in their lives.
09:39Someone who's going to make their life easier and better and less stressful.
09:43And that's exactly what I have a history of doing in the legislature.
09:48And if I can do it in the Texas legislature, I know I can do it in the U.S.
09:52Senate.
09:57Are you all going to is there going to be a debate?
09:59Are you all going to debate?
10:00I mean, Ken Paxton has been dodging debates all year, and it's why today I'm challenging Ken Paxton to a
10:11debate on Fox News.
10:12If he his his his handler in July said, of course, we're going to debate.
10:25And then they they declined three different invitations from local Texas TV stations.
10:33So let's go to Ken Paxton's safe space.
10:36Let's do let's do let's do Brett Baer on Fox News.
10:41I'll go into the lion's den because I I know what I believe.
10:46I am proud of my record and I'm not afraid of of hard questions.
10:53And and Ken Paxton is is running from a fight.
10:57And that that sounds like low T behavior to me.
11:03I don't know if I'm I don't know if I'm doing that right.
11:07I hope I'm using that right.
11:09But but in all seriousness, you know, Texans Texans deserve and they deserve answers to their questions.
11:17Texans deserve to make an informed choice in this really critical race.
11:22So I'm I'm challenging Ken Paxton to a game on his home turf.
11:27He's been running from accountability his whole life.
11:30And it's it's time to stop running.
11:32Has has there been any have y'all been in communication at all?
11:38Like, has there been steps to that product to that idea?
11:43Yeah, we we've been making outreach to to them, to to these TV stations over the past two or three
11:53months now,
11:53because we do want to debate and and I'm I'm really willing to go anywhere to make that a reality.
12:01I think Texans deserve to see both candidates that are seeking to represent them in Washington compete and and debate
12:11ideas and compare records and ask each other questions.
12:15I just think that is the bare minimum that voters should expect in a democracy.
12:20And and I'm still holding out hope that Ken Paxton will accept an invitation to debate, even if it's on
12:27Fox News.
12:28OK, so we mentioned the over one hundred fifty million dollars coming into this race on the Republican side.
12:37I think it's that's going to buy a lot of ads.
12:40A lot of those ads are going to portray you in a negative light.
12:44I want to talk a little about some of the criticisms, some of the attack lines that we've already seen
12:50and hear your perspective on them.
12:52I would say the ad that I watch while I am sadly watching college football every Saturday.
12:59So I'm ruining college football with all.
13:01Yes, well, actually, the the A&M football team already ruined it for me.
13:06But we this does not what we're here to talk about.
13:11The one I've seen the most is the the James Tallarico voted to let China buy our land and take
13:15our tax dollars ad.
13:17I was surprised to learn that, too.
13:19This this is, I believe, a reference to SB 17, which passed last year.
13:24It banned certain governments, organizations and individuals from and buying land in Texas.
13:29You voted against the bill. Why?
13:31So, first of all, every accusation is a confession for Ken Paxton.
13:37He is accusing me of of selling out to China when he has taken massive donations from real estate developers
13:46linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
13:49He accused me of being soft on China, but he's the one who took an all expense paid luxury trip
13:56to Beijing and met with Communist Party officials.
13:59I've never even been to China.
14:01I, I, I really I'm curious what they're going to accuse me of next.
14:05I'm sure I'm going to see a TV ad saying that I've been impeached by my own party, that I,
14:10that I, that I own 15 homes on a government salary.
14:15I'm sure there's gonna be an ad saying I stole someone's thousand dollar pen.
14:20Every, every, every accusation is a confession.
14:24But it, it can't obscure the truth, which is that Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in Texas and
14:30shouldn't be anywhere near the United States Senate.
14:39The, the, I, I hear you on the, the, the Paxton trip, but the fact is you did vote against
14:45the bill.
14:45What was, what was the reason for that?
14:47Well, and I voted for an amendment to the bill to ban China from buying land near military bases.
14:53What I objected to was the overly broad language in the bill that would have given the governor of Texas
14:59ultimate power to decide who gets to buy, buy property and who doesn't.
15:04And it would have, if it was just limited to agents of the Chinese Communist Party, that would have been
15:10one thing.
15:10And I would have supported that bill.
15:11In fact, I supported amendments to limit the scope of the bill.
15:14But this bill is going to be used to prevent, you know, hardworking immigrants who want to live the American
15:22dream and, and buy property from being able to do so.
15:24And so I was, I was deeply concerned that this bill would be used to discriminate against our neighbors.
15:32And I tried my best to, to limit the bill to, to actually going after, you know, agents of the
15:39Chinese Communist Party or, or foreign governments who are trying to buy land in Texas.
15:42So this is just, this is what we're seeing a lot of is, as you know, the legislative process is,
15:48is complicated and, and there's ways that you can twist it to kind of tell any story you want to
15:53tell.
15:54But if you go back and actually look at the details of the bill, if you look at the amendments
15:58that were proposed and which amendments I supported, you'll see that they were trying to do something really extreme.
16:03And I wasn't on board with that, if they wanted to, to, to, to focus the scope of the bill
16:09to actually go after the Chinese Communist Party and prevent them from buying land near military bases, I was all
16:15for it.
16:16In fact, my votes suggest and, and demonstrate that, that I'm all for that kind of bill.
16:21Um, but this is just, this is what happens in campaigns.
16:25Uh, people take, um, a little bit of information and they, they try to distort it, uh, to tell the
16:30story they want to tell.
16:32Okay.
16:32Another, another attack line.
16:33Um, we hear the word socialist a lot.
16:36Uh, you, you and I spoke at TribFest last year.
16:40Uh, you told me this was during the primary that you were not a socialist.
16:43Um.
16:44That's not what I'm seeing on TV, so.
16:45I, I just, yeah, which I, it was weird to me that you would pivot to becoming a socialist after
16:51winning the primary, but, um, I, I, I assume, okay, you, so I assume that that has not changed, that
16:59you remain not, not a socialist.
17:00But what, uh, what does that even mean?
17:03Like, what, what is, what does the term socialist mean to you and why do you not align with that
17:11ideal ideology?
17:12Well, because I'm a capitalist.
17:14I believe in free enterprise, I believe in competition, I believe in, in, in free markets and growth.
17:22Um, I think the point I'm trying to make, the point I've made in the past is that this system
17:26we have now is actually not capitalism.
17:29This system only works for those who can afford to buy politicians like Ken Paxton, who can afford to buy
17:36access and control.
17:37This is not capitalism.
17:40This is crony capitalism.
17:41Uh, Dr. King, uh, once said that we have socialism for the rich and we have rugged individualism for the
17:49rest of us.
17:51And, and, and that, that's what this country looks like right now.
17:54And, you know, I, I did an event with, um, with Mark Cuban, uh, up in, up in DFW.
18:00And we talked about the need, uh, particularly in, in healthcare, uh, we talked about these healthcare monopolies that, um,
18:08you know, basically one company can control, uh, the hospital where you pay to get treated, uh, the, uh, the
18:16drugstore where you pay for your prescriptions.
18:17And, and, and the health insurance company that decides how much you pay.
18:21So it's a complete kind of vertical monopoly.
18:25And that means fewer options, less competition.
18:29And that means higher prices.
18:30And so this is one area where we could use more capitalism, not less, where more competition would actually mean
18:38lower prices for people at the drugstore.
18:41And Mark Cuban's doing that.
18:42You know, he started a company called Cost Plus Drugs, which is, which is actively competing against these giant healthcare
18:48monopolies and providing people their prescription drugs at a lower cost.
18:52So, uh, what I'm trying to do is I think get us back to that old school capitalism that cares
18:58about people, the kind of capitalism we had in the 1950s and 60s when we had the largest, strongest middle
19:04class in the world, when, when corporations had a more expansive definition of shareholder, right?
19:11If you think about those great American companies, GE, GM, Ford, these companies felt an obligation to their workers, to
19:21the families of their workers, to the communities where they operated.
19:25And you still see that today.
19:26You think about Texas companies like H-E-B, but we need that kind of civic ethos, uh, that kind
19:34of corporate ethos that cares about people, uh, in our system again.
19:38And, and, and so what I'm fighting for is, is, is OG capitalism.
19:42And I feel like that has, uh, been lost in this country over the last five decades.
19:46Okay.
19:47Um, the, another one that has come up a lot, trans athletes in high school sports, you told Fox News
19:56recently, um, maybe as you were negotiating an upcoming debate with them, um, that you, you say, I will oppose
20:04trans athletes playing in girls sports.
20:06If it risks safety or fairness, uh, this, uh, contrasts with your vote on SB 15 that, that banned this
20:17practice statewide.
20:18Have you changed positions on this topic?
20:21No, my position is exactly the same.
20:24Uh, the reason I opposed that bill is because it was a blanket statewide ban without any appreciation, um, for,
20:33for nuance.
20:34Um, I've supported an amendment to that bill to allow local officials, local, uh, education officials, uh, local sports officials
20:44to decide on an athlete by athlete, sport by sport basis.
20:49If, if, um, if there's safety and fairness, that, that has always been my, my North star.
20:56Um, and, and it's going to continue to be my North star.
20:59I'm also always going to stand up to politicians who bully students, who bully kids to score political points.
21:08Uh, my faith teaches me that, that, uh, every child is made in the image of God.
21:15Um, and so I am always going to push back against efforts to, to grandstand, um, when it comes to
21:23our students.
21:24Um, and I'll always fight to make sure that our student athletes and our, and every sport is safe and
21:29fair.
21:29Those are not mutually exclusive goals.
21:31Um, that's exactly what I did in the state house.
21:33It's exactly my position.
21:34Now it'll be my position in the U S Senate.
21:37You, you, you, you, you were quoted in the Statesman in 2021 saying some things are more important than perfectly
21:47fair competition.
21:48And I was talking about t-ball and that's true.
21:50When you're talking about elementary school sports, any educator will tell you perfectly fair competition in elementary school is not
21:57the name of the game.
21:59At that age, the goal is to teach teamwork.
22:02It's to teach kids, uh, you know, how to work together and how to have fun.
22:05Um, now when you get to varsity baseball, when you get to, to college sports, then competition is, is clearly
22:12more important because you've got scholarships on the line.
22:15Um, but again, this is where nuance gets lost in this discussion.
22:20Um, and it's why when we try to treat every sport at every grade level, the same, we get into
22:25trouble.
22:25And, and, and, uh, and so, you know, what Ken Pax and the Republicans are trying to do is, is,
22:31uh, obscure that nuance in order to score points,
22:34in order to portray me as, as, as someone who, um, uh, you know, some kind of crazy person.
22:40And, and I, I really think that, um, that voters are going to see through that, uh, over the next
22:45few weeks before the election.
22:46There was a, uh, a moment on cable news not too long ago that got a lot of people stirred
22:51up where, uh, AOC goes, I think she says, woke one was crazy, right?
22:57And there was this idea that, um, that maybe the Democratic Party, the left, went through a period in 2020
23:06and a little bit afterward where they kind of got over their skis a little bit.
23:10But do you think that's true? Did you participate in that period?
23:17I mean, I, I certainly understand why, um, kind of the performative politics of the left, um, upsets people, because
23:26it certainly upsets me.
23:27Um, like when you're trying to police what language people are using, um, even if their heart's in the right
23:34place, you know, I, you know, I think about, like, my grandparents.
23:38Parents who have good values, they, they want to treat everyone with respect and dignity, but they are not up
23:43to date on all the latest terms.
23:46They, they, they don't read academic journals and they don't exactly know, uh, the precise right word to use.
23:53So when you've got people on the left or people in the Democratic Party who then try to cancel someone
23:58because they're not using the right word, to me, that's not a serious politics.
24:02That's not, we're not actually trying to build a coalition to improve this state in this country if we're just
24:08trying to score points off of one another.
24:10So I certainly get why that is frustrating.
24:13I get why it's counterproductive.
24:15Um, and I feel that too.
24:17Uh, and it's why I have no problem kind of criticizing my own party when necessary.
24:21I'm a proud Texas Democrat, but I already have a religion and I already have a sports team.
24:27So I have no problem sharing hard truths with my party, uh, when necessary.
24:33And, and I'll continue to do that, um, in the U S Senate.
24:36All right.
24:37What, what, one more, uh, criticism line and then we'll move on to something else.
24:42Uh, we have heard Ken Paxson, uh, admittedly citing a text tribune story.
24:47Um, no, uh, you know, talk about, um, how, uh, our reporting that said that you lived in a different
24:54residency than where you were, uh, registered to vote for several elections.
24:57This is a, uh, violation of election law.
25:01What, what happened there?
25:02Yeah, I did not violate election law.
25:04And you notice that that came right after it was proven through court documents that Ken Paxson actually committed election
25:12fraud.
25:12So this is, I, I think, I think I said earlier that every accusation is a confession from Ken Paxson.
25:18This is exactly what I'm talking about, but I did not violate election law.
25:22I followed every single, um, election law as I always have done.
25:25Were there any times where you were, I, I think the story was that you were registered at your parents'
25:29house.
25:30You had moved to a new house and hadn't updated your registration.
25:33No, uh, I voted where I lived, uh, in every single election.
25:38All right.
25:38Um, let's do some hypotheticals, uh, as Senator James Tallarico.
25:45Uh, there is an opening on the Supreme Court in the last two years of Donald Trump's term.
25:55He nominates a justice to, um, sit on the court.
26:00Uh, I think it's probably safe to assume that that justice would be anti-abortion.
26:04Is there any scenario where you vote to confirm a Donald Trump appointee to the court?
26:09Depending on who it is.
26:10I mean, my job as U.S. Senator is to evaluate every nominee on their merits.
26:16Um, it's to listen to, um, to, to, to every hearing and, and carefully evaluate their answers to my questions,
26:25the questions of my colleagues.
26:26And I will perform that duty as U.S. Senator.
26:29Uh, I will judge a nominee based on their merits, not based on who nominates, uh, that nominee.
26:36Do, is there a, um, is, is, is, uh, feelings on abortion a red line for you?
26:44I mean, what if that person would, you know, uh, feel the same way that the majority on the court
26:50did on that particular show?
26:52I mean, I, I, I believe that every single person in this country has a God-given right to control
26:58their own bodies, to control their own lives and their own destinies.
27:02I think it's the most, I, I think it's the most fundamental of rights, uh, in our, in our democracy.
27:11And, uh, so no, I would not, uh, support a nominee who would seek to control, um, women's bodies, uh,
27:19and rob them of their bodily autonomy.
27:20In a world where the Senate, uh, and House are controlled by Democrats, you know, there will be a new
27:27president and, and, and, and after 2028, uh, would you vote for a bill that restores abortion rights nationwide?
27:34Yes.
27:40Let's say, now I'm getting into, like, super hypothetical world here, but let's say through some kind of miracle, the,
27:46that Congress decides that they want to reach a compromise on immigration.
27:50Um, right, right.
27:54I, I actually don't, I, I, maybe I'm too hopeful, but I think the current crisis with masked men and
28:03unmarked vehicles killing people on our streets, my prayer is that this crisis will actually lead to us finally passing
28:11comprehensive immigration reform in this country.
28:14So, I, I, I don't think it's as, um, as unlikely as you may, as you may think.
28:20Okay, so, so let's say this is, uh, maintaining border security in a similar way to, uh, how the Trump
28:27administration has done it.
28:29Let's say it's completing the border wall, but also includes a path to citizenship for people who are already in
28:34this country.
28:35Is that, um, acceptable to you?
28:39I think depending on the details of the deal.
28:41Uh, now, you know, my concern would be, um, you know, along our southern border, there are certainly places where
28:48physical barriers are necessary and make sense.
28:50But right now, the administration is still trying to build a useless Big Bend border wall through one of our
28:59state's natural treasures.
29:01Um, and not only is that ineffective, uh, not only is it, is it corrupt because it's enriching out-of
29:07-state vendors, but it will decimate the economy of the Big Bend region.
29:11And so, uh, I, I'm never going to do anything that's going to harm our state like that, um, but
29:18I am happy to, to work with members of the other party to, uh, to, to figure out a compromise,
29:26uh, where we both secure the border, uh, where we have an orderly process so we know who's coming into
29:33our country.
29:34Uh, and, uh, uh, allow for more legal pathways for hardworking immigrants who want to live the American dream to
29:40come here and make us richer and stronger in the process.
29:44And on top of all of that, creating a pathway to citizenship for our neighbors who have been here for
29:49years, for decades, who have been contributing to this country.
29:52I think those, those basic pillars, um, those are the same, the same contours of, uh, of the immigration reform
30:01proposals during the Bush administration.
30:04And I think most Texans, uh, me included, support all of those goals, uh, most Texans, most Americans are pro
30:12security, right?
30:13Public safety is the most important thing the government does, more important than public education, more important than public health.
30:20If people aren't safe, then nothing else really matters.
30:23And most Texans, most Americans are pro-immigrant.
30:27We know that this is a nation of immigrants, uh, you wouldn't be interviewing a guy with the last name
30:32Tallarico.
30:33If this was not a nation of immigrants and people understand that throughout American history, immigrants have always made us
30:40richer and stronger.
30:41And so I think what people are tired of is those two things being pitted against each other of us
30:47being told you got to pick between security and welcoming the stranger.
30:51And we don't have to pick between those things.
30:53We can have a system that, that keeps out people who mean to do us harm and welcomes folks who
30:59want to contribute to this nation.
31:01That is absolutely possible.
31:02And I think we can pass it if we build the political will to get it done.
31:09What should the Senate be doing right now or Congress be doing right now about AI?
31:16Yeah.
31:17I mean, one, they should do something because I think what most people are, are really, um, anxious about is
31:24that our leaders at the federal levels just seem to have their heads in the sand.
31:27Um, I think most Texans are both excited about the possibilities of AI making our lives easier and better, um,
31:38curing diseases, curing cancer.
31:39Those are exciting possibilities.
31:42And then a lot of us are deeply concerned that there are no guardrails, that there are no rules of
31:47the road.
31:48I think we need a regulatory framework so that we can develop these technologies safely and responsibly.
31:55And that's not what's happening right now.
31:57Uh, if I was, if I was in the Senate right now and, and helping to develop this framework, I
32:03would prioritize three things.
32:04One is protecting jobs, protecting workers.
32:08We got to ensure that AI is improving jobs, enhancing jobs, not replacing jobs.
32:14Second is we got to protect kids.
32:17We saw what unregulated social media did to an entire generation of young Americans.
32:25And we're starting to see what unregulated AI would do to young Americans.
32:30You've seen the stories about AI being the largest provider of mental health care.
32:34To our young people.
32:35You've seen horror stories of, of AI chat bots, teaching kids how to harm themselves or take their own lives.
32:42So protecting kids, I think has to be one of our priorities.
32:46And then lastly, I would prioritize protecting our democracy because we've seen already over the course of this campaign, Ken
32:55Paxton and, and the Republican machine using AI deep fakes of me to mislead voters.
33:03In a very consequential election.
33:05And if, if voters can't differentiate between fact and fiction, it's really hard to make informed choices at the ballot
33:13box.
33:13And I, I even, you know, I, I used to roll my eyes at my, at my parents and grandparents
33:20when they would get tricked by something on the internet or on social media.
33:23But now increasingly I struggle to tell the difference between an AI video and reality.
33:29And so when you start to, when that infiltrates our democratic process and our decision making as a, as a
33:36state, as a country, then we're walking down a really dangerous path.
33:40So if I was developing this regulatory framework, I would prioritize protecting jobs, kids and democracy.
33:53You have talked about an AI dividend.
33:55What's, tell us about that.
33:57Yeah, we cannot let artificial intelligence become yet another arena where billionaires write the rules for the rest of us.
34:05We cannot allow all the gains of this innovation to accumulate at the top.
34:12And so what I've said is if these AI technologies are going to use our collective human creativity, if they're
34:22going to use our collective ingenuity, if they're going to use the intellectual property of our species, then we want
34:29our royalty check.
34:29I think it's not unreasonable to expect that all of us as citizens of this country are going to benefit
34:39from the, the wealth that these American companies produce using what we all created.
34:47We should be fairly compensated for those contributions to these technologies.
34:51And, and, you know, you see this in Alaska, they do in a statewide dividend for their natural resources, for
34:56their oil and gas resources.
34:58I think the same thing could work nationwide as these, these companies, as these technologies continue to grow and develop
35:06and, and increase in value.
35:11You, there, tell us a little bit about the ideal energy policy you would like to pursue.
35:22Yeah, you know, uh, we have been, uh, as a state, a leader in energy, um, for, for at least
35:30a century.
35:30And, and I want us to continue that leadership into the 21st century.
35:35Um, you know, I, I had family members who worked in the oil and gas industry.
35:40I went to public schools funded by the oil and gas industry.
35:43That's how we fund public education.
35:44So I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm indebted, uh, to our, our oil and gas industry.
35:50And I want to protect those good paying oil and gas jobs that are sometimes keeping whole families afloat, uh,
35:56in this state.
35:56I also want us to double down on the energy sources of the future.
36:03Texas is, is already number one in wind.
36:05We're already number one in solar.
36:06I want us to be number one in geothermal and hydrogen.
36:10Uh, I want us to be an energy leader in the 21st century, like we were in the 20th.
36:15And then I want us to be an energy leader in the 22nd century.
36:18And that means playing long game.
36:20It means leveraging our energy expertise as a state to stay dominant.
36:25And, and I am tired of politicians, frankly, in both parties, playing politics with our energy industry.
36:32Uh, and we've seen that recently with this administration going after our Texas renewable, uh, industry.
36:39And, and, and that's, that is, uh, in this state, it means lost jobs.
36:45It means slower economic growth.
36:47Uh, and we have to have a Senator who's going to stand up for an all the above, uh, energy
36:51approach, uh, in Washington.
36:55What is the, what's the closing message?
36:58What do you, what do you need voters to know and hear in order to, you know, get 40 days
37:05out and still be leading in the polls and lead in the poll that matters the most?
37:09Well, I, I think, um, a little bit of hope is a dangerous thing.
37:13And, and I think, uh, my hope is that, uh, the people of this state, uh, will, will remember that
37:22we deserve better from our leaders, that we don't have to settle for a crook like Ken Paxton.
37:27That we can expect a Senator who's going to fight for all 31 million Texans, not fight for any political
37:33party, not fight for, uh, the occupant in the oval office, not fight for a billionaire mega donor, but fight
37:40for the people of Texas.
37:42And, and I know that cynicism is in style and there's lots of reasons to be cynical and to think
37:48that this is, uh, this is the best we can get, but I want Texans to remember that we deserve
37:55better than this.
37:56And that we can take on this broken corrupt system and we can build a new kind of politics that
38:02brings people together, that delivers for working families in this state and leads us to a better, brighter future.
38:09And if, if we can hold onto that hope, then we are going to do extraordinary things as a state
38:14in the weeks and months and years ahead.
38:26You know, a lot of the criticism of Paxton, right?
38:31Centers, you've, you've touched on a lot of it, right?
38:33The, this, um, the, he owns more than a dozen properties across the, the, the country bought with a government
38:42salary, um, ethical issues that have arisen, uh, criminal investigations, uh, you know, there've been revelations around his private life,
38:53um, infidelity.
38:55There are people who are clearly uncomfortable about that.
39:00What do you, what about the voter who sees those things, but also worries that you don't represent the same
39:09values that they have?
39:10You know, I mean, abortion is a, is, is one, like there are many, many people in this state who
39:15are anti-abortion, um, who, who feel like you might take two liberal stances on, on things like taxes or,
39:23or, or climate change.
39:24Or any of that, how do you convince someone to, to sort of take a chance with you?
39:31Well, one, I would encourage them to look at my record in the state house, uh, cause it was a
39:36record of consensus building of, um, of, uh, finding common ground of delivering for the people in my district and
39:44across the state.
39:45And the best indicator of future behavior is past behavior.
39:48So you can take a look at how I led in the state house.
39:51I mean, Texas monthly, not to name a competitor, but Texas monthly named, named me one of the top 10
39:57legislators in the state of Texas because of my work in a Republican dominated body.
40:02Uh, and, and, and then I would say, uh, I don't agree with anyone on a hundred percent of the
40:09issues.
40:10I don't agree with anyone in this room on a hundred percent of the issues.
40:13Um, but I can promise the people of this state that I will always be honest with them.
40:20I will always be accessible to them and I will always fight for them even if they don't vote for
40:26me.
40:27And I think people are hungry for that kind of integrity in our politics and our public officials.
40:34Again, uh, politics used to be a, a noble profession.
40:39We used to look up to our elected leaders at the local state and federal level.
40:44It feels like a long time ago, but I, I really do believe that those old fashioned values of, of
40:54honesty, of service, of doing the right thing.
40:56Even when no one is watching, I think those values are about to make a comeback.
41:01And I think this year is an opportunity for us to return to those old fashioned values so that we
41:07can be proud of our elected officials again in this country.
41:11Okay.
41:17All right.
41:18TexasTribune.org slash ask.
41:19If you have questions, get them in.
41:21Rebecca, I believe is going to be asking them.
41:24And I will say you can go ahead and take the stage.
41:27And while you do, I'll ask you one more thing, which is, uh, we talked about convincing maybe more conservative
41:33voters.
41:34There's also the question of black voters.
41:35Uh, that was a big issue in the primary.
41:37You pledged to spend $25 million to read and on outreach to black voters.
41:42Uh, how are you spending that money?
41:46Where is that money going?
41:47And how is it working?
41:50Yeah.
41:51And without sharing, uh, every line item of our budget, uh, to our opponents, uh, I will, I will just
41:57tell you, um, we are spending an unprecedented historic, um, amount of resources in, in reaching, uh, black voters and
42:06turning out black voters across the state of Texas.
42:09Um, both, um, uh, uh, uh, with a massive door knocking program, um, uh, massive phone banking program, massive relational
42:18organizing program, where people are, are texting through their networks.
42:22Um, but also through more traditional, uh, paid media, paid television, um, radio ads, uh, digital ads.
42:30All of these are speaking to the issues that black Texans are facing.
42:35And there are some issues that affect all of us.
42:38Obviously, none of us, whether you're black, white, or brown, can afford groceries or gas or utilities or health insurance.
42:45But then there are also issues that affect different communities in particular.
42:49And for black communities, we have a maternal mortality crisis that is three times deadlier for black women.
42:55Harris County is the deadliest place for a black woman to give birth in the entire country.
43:00Shameful. Unacceptable.
43:03We have seen a historic and unprecedented attack on black political power, gutting the Voting Rights Act, which was passed
43:12by a Texas Democrat, Lyndon Johnson.
43:15By the way, this is LBJ's Senate seat that I'm running for.
43:22And when we win back LBJ's Senate seat, I hope that we pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to
43:30guarantee federal voting rights protections for every American.
43:35And then one more I'll mention.
43:37One more.
43:38Two more I'll mention.
43:39One is there is a funding gap for our HBCUs, our historically black colleges and universities.
43:45Imagine if we brought that funding up to parity for our HBCUs, there's nothing they can't accomplish.
43:50I did a town hall at Prairie View A&M.
43:53We had an event at TSU.
43:55And then I gave the commencement address at Paul Quinn College, the oldest HBCU in Texas.
44:00These are students of such promise.
44:02These are faculty members of such potential.
44:05We need to bet on them.
44:07And we need to make sure they get the same funding opportunities that other institutions get.
44:10Last one I'll mention, black businesses.
44:14When black businesses are successful, black communities are successful.
44:17And right now we've got black entrepreneurs who can't access capital.
44:21We've seen an unprecedented attack on the hub program for historically underutilized businesses.
44:28And so supporting the black business community and black business owners is going to be a priority for me in
44:34the U.S. Senate.
44:34These are all the issues that impact black communities in particular.
44:38And it's what we're speaking about through all these outreach programs, whether it's on the doors, on the phone, on
44:45TV, in mailboxes, on the radio.
44:48We are speaking to these issues because these are the issues that we're hearing from black Texans all over the
44:52state.
44:53Is there going to be a Jasmine Crockett endorsement any time between now and Election Day?
44:58You know, Congressman Crockett endorsed me and the entire Democratic ticket the day after the election, the morning after the
45:07election.
45:07And I just want to pause on this because primaries suck.
45:11They always suck because there are fights within the coalition.
45:16And our primary was tense, as a lot of primaries are.
45:21But Congressman Crockett turned around that morning, didn't wait a day, didn't wait a week.
45:27And she endorsed me and the entire Democratic ticket.
45:30And I am grateful to have her support in this historic fight for our state.
45:38Rebecca, take it away.
45:40Okay.
45:41We have some really great audience questions.
45:43If you thought Watkins was tough, wait until you hear these.
45:46Oh, no.
45:49Alina Curtin from Austin asks, what is your stance on gun control?
45:52Do you intend to bring these longstanding issues to the table?
45:55Yeah.
45:56You know, I've worked on this issue in the statehouse.
46:00I obviously believe in the Second Amendment.
46:02I don't pick and choose between the amendments in the Bill of Rights.
46:06I think the second is just as important as the first and the third.
46:10And I believe everyone has a God-given right to bear arms, to protect themselves and their families.
46:19And I also believe that, and I think any gun owner will tell you, that gun safety is paramount.
46:26And there is broad consensus across the state, across this country, including among gun owners, that we need to take
46:32certain steps to keep weapons out of the hands of dangerous people.
46:36And so I would absolutely fight for universal background checks.
46:39I would absolutely fight to close the gun show loophole.
46:43I would absolutely fight for red flag laws and safe storage laws to protect not only our constitutional rights, but
46:52everyone in our communities from gun violence.
46:54Those are not mutually exclusive goals, and I will do both in the U.S. Senate.
47:02We've got a couple questions about your stance on super PACs.
47:08Jack Balasia from Houston asks,
47:10While independent super PACs cannot legally coordinate with a candidate's official campaign, the pro-Talarico super PAC Lone Star Rising
47:16has accepted massive single contributions on his behalf,
47:20notably a $10 million single donation from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman,
47:25alongside with a $3.75 million contribution from the Dark Money Group government that works.
47:31How do you reconcile this with your position on campaign contributions?
47:35Yeah, and just to clarify, these donations were not accepted on my behalf.
47:39This is not my super PAC.
47:41I don't have a super PAC.
47:43I can't even legally be allowed to influence or coordinate or run a super PAC.
47:49All I have control over is my campaign.
47:51That is what I'm able to influence.
47:54That's what I'm able to control.
47:57And this is why I want to ban super PACs nationwide when we win this seat, when we win a
48:03Senate majority,
48:04because right now your billionaires and mega donors of all kinds are able to make unlimited, sometimes secret, donations to
48:14political campaigns.
48:15And it is corrupting our politics from the inside out.
48:18There are lots of super PACs in this race.
48:20There are some that claim to be for me, claim to be against me.
48:23There are super PACs for certain issues.
48:25I don't have control over any of that, but I condemn all super PACs because I think it is corrosive
48:31in American politics.
48:39Victoria from Sam Houston State University asks, I know you advocate for the minimum wage to be changed to $15
48:47an hour right now at $7.25.
48:49What will you do to help these smaller businesses to make sure that raising the minimum wage doesn't put people
48:55out of business?
48:56Yeah, it's a great question.
48:57And through my time in the legislature, I have always fought for our small business owners.
49:02I've passed a major bill to cut taxes for small businesses in the state of Texas, a bill I'm very
49:08proud of.
49:09And so I will always look out for our small business owners across the state.
49:13And there's some instances where we pass policies, we pass laws that are really meant to go after the giant
49:22multinational corporations that are abusing workers, abusing people in our communities.
49:26And in some instances, we've got to ensure there's flexibility for our really small businesses to be able to get
49:33by.
49:33And I want to strike that balance in the U.S. Senate on a whole host of policy topics.
49:39One from Austin asks, as a Ph.D. student from UT, I am seeing and experiencing the impacts of anti
49:46-DEI legislation and shifts that limit academic freedom and diverse curriculum.
49:50What would you do as a senator to ensure underrepresented students can feel seen and supported at public universities in
49:56Texas?
49:57Yeah, and we've seen this most recently where one of the statewide Republican candidates went after students at the University
50:05of Texas for celebrating a big win against Ohio State.
50:08I mean, the most Texas, the most Texan of celebrations, and both friends decided to launch a racist attack against
50:23our students.
50:24And so I want us to get back to a place where we celebrate our diversity, where we recognize that
50:32our diversity is our strength in Texas.
50:34You know, we used to be known as the friendly state.
50:39When you look up our official motto as a state, it's friendship.
50:44And the word Texas comes from the Caddo Native American word for friend.
50:50And what's interesting is that they didn't use that word to describe a friend in their own tribe.
50:56They used that word Texas to describe a friend in a different tribe.
51:00So friendship across lines of difference, friendship amidst diversity.
51:06And that's what makes Texas so great.
51:09We're this big mashup of all these different people, all these different cultures.
51:14It's what's made us so innovative.
51:16You think about Tejano music.
51:21If you're listening to a Selena song, you are hearing Spanish vocal styles from northern Mexico.
51:27But you're also hearing polka dance rhythms from Czech and German immigrants.
51:34So it was this diversity that came together to create this entirely new, beautiful thing called Tejano music.
51:42And to me, that's what Texas has always been about.
51:45And it's why we're always so innovative, whether it's in music or food or business.
51:49And we need leaders who will celebrate that diversity, not weaponize it.
51:54And that's exactly, I think, the change that people are looking for in the politics of this state.
52:06Ming Gui from Purdue University asks, you've said there's nothing Christian about Christian nationalism.
52:13Where do you draw the line between a Christian whose faith shapes their politics, which you've defended, and Christian nationalism,
52:19which you condemn?
52:20Yeah, it's such a great question.
52:21So many of you know that my faith is central in my life.
52:26My granddad, who was a Baptist preacher in South Texas, he told me when I was real little that our
52:33job as Christians is supposed to,
52:34we're supposed to follow those two commandments that Jesus gave us, to love God and to love neighbor.
52:40And there's no exception to that second commandment.
52:43I'm not just supposed to love my Presbyterian neighbors.
52:45I'm not just supposed to love my Christian neighbors.
52:49I don't want the government forcing a religion down my throat.
52:55So why would I do that to my Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, agnostic, atheist neighbors?
53:05That's not love.
53:06And so I have called out these Christian nationalist bills that seek to build a theocracy in this country as
53:13not only unconstitutional,
53:14because they violate the First Amendment of the Constitution, not only un-American,
53:20because they violate that vision of e pluribus unum out of many one,
53:26but also I've criticized these bills as deeply un-Christian,
53:31because they violate the greatest commandment to love God and to love neighbor.
53:36And I think we need a senator who is going to confront Christian nationalism
53:43and do it not just on constitutional grounds, but on theological grounds.
53:49I will always stand up for the separation of church and state.
53:59And to answer this particular question, it's important, especially for all of us to remember
54:08that the separation of church and state is not the same thing as a separation of faith and politics.
54:14This is the mistake we often make.
54:16We all bring our moralities, our philosophies, our ethics, our worldviews to our politics,
54:24and faith is no different.
54:26I bring my faith to my politics, and I hope others do too,
54:30just like Dr. King brought his faith to his politics.
54:35Dorothy Day, Dolores Huerta, Mr. Rogers,
54:39all of these people brought their faith to their work, to their actions, their activism, to their politics.
54:45And that's a good thing.
54:46We should share across traditions why our values inform our policy beliefs and our actions out in public.
54:56What I want is a spiritually enriched political discourse in this country.
55:01And I want our politics to be rooted in something deeper than partisanship.
55:05I want our politics to be rooted in something deeper than the news of the day,
55:09even deeper than any policy platform.
55:12I want our politics to be rooted in timeless, eternal values across traditions and philosophies and worldviews.
55:22And I want us to get comfortable sharing that with each other in the public square.
55:25We can do that.
55:26We can have that beautiful, rich debate, conversation.
55:30While also not institutionally merging church and state.
55:35Without forcing, with state power, a certain religion onto the entire population of this country.
55:42So we've got to keep those two things separate.
55:44We've got to defend the separation of church and state.
55:46And then we should encourage integration of faith and politics.
55:58I'm going to, I think this may be the last one.
56:00Yeah.
56:01And this is a tough one, but we've got a few on this topic.
56:06Marielle from Fort Worth asks, as you've moved from representing a Democratic district to running statewide,
56:12some of your positions and rhetoric have changed.
56:14How should voters distinguish between genuine growth in your views and changes made because of the political realities of running
56:20statewide?
56:20Do they have a specific example?
56:23They did not.
56:24Oh, that's unfortunate.
56:27Because I would love to talk about any specific examples.
56:30And I know there's an attempt by the other side to try to paint me as inconsistent.
56:37But my views on all the important topics of the day have not changed.
56:42And you can look back at my record.
56:44You can look back at the amendments that I fought for in some of these controversial bills
56:47to see that the position I'm fighting for today is exactly the position I was fighting for in the halls
56:51of the legislature.
56:53But I will just, to answer the other question, I didn't get elected in a Democratic district.
56:58I got elected in a Republican district.
57:01I got elected in a Trump district in Williamson County, Texas.
57:06And I did that by bringing people together.
57:12I remember, I think my first, the first thing I ever did as a political candidate was I endorsed Joe
57:18Strauss to be Speaker of the Texas House.
57:21And I remember there were some people in my own party who called me out and said I was compromising
57:26my values.
57:27In my kickoff speech, you can go back and watch this on YouTube,
57:30I told the people in my district that I'm not compromising my values.
57:34I told them compromise is one of my values.
57:38And so I have been the same person since I first ran for office.
57:42I'm the same person since I taught public school on the west side of San Antonio.
57:47And I'm going to be the same person in the U.S. Senate on behalf of all 31 million Texans.
58:00Well, I want to say I'm very grateful for you coming here and answering these questions.
58:05I think it's important to participate in this way, in this process.
58:09And I know everyone here is grateful to hear from you as well.
58:12So that's the end of our time.
58:15Thank you all.
58:15Appreciate you.
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