Talarico slams Paxton at Dallas rally: ‘Most corrupt politician in Texas’

The Democratic state representative also criticized the influence of Elon Musk, who has poured $168 million into the Texas Senate race in support of Paxton.DALLAS (CN) — Five days out from Election Day, James Talarico had a message for supporters in Dallas: “Elon Musk is trying to buy this Senate seat in Texas.”Musk, the world’s richest man, has poured $168 million into the Texas Senate race in support of Talarico’s opponent, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Talarico likened the contest to the biblical battle between David and Goliath.“We are going up against our own Goliaths: those billionaire mega-donors, those corporate special interests, the entire Washington, D.C., establishment,” Talarico said.The Democratic state representative spoke Thursday evening at at a rally at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas as part of his “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts” tour, a reference to what coach Eric Taylor tells his high school football players in the television series “Friday Night Lights”: “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.” Talarico slammed the influence of billionaires in Texas politics, calling his opponent “the most corrupt politician in Texas.”“Ken Paxton is everything that’s wrong with our politics. He doesn’t serve us; he serves himself,” Talarico said. “Since taking office, Ken Paxton has increased his net worth by $27 million, all while our pay has remained stagnant. He now owns 15 homes, while most Texans are struggling to afford one. It’s hard to get 15 homes in a game of Monopoly. I don’t know how Ken Paxton got 15 homes. He was impeached by his own party for taking bribes from wealthy donors, all while he blocked our overtime pay and gutted our healthcare. This is the rot at the core of our broken political system.”Paxton was impeached in 2023 by the Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives, which accused him of accepting bribes and misusing the powers of the attorney general’s office to help his friend and donor Nate Paul, an Austin real estate investor who was under federal investigation. The Texas Senate acquitted Paxton later that year.After Paxton’s impeachment, Talarico said, a pair of “billionaire pastors from West Texas” — oil tycoons Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks — “spent millions in attack ads against those brave Republican lawmakers who attempted to hold one of their own accountable.”“Dunn and Wilks succeeded,” Talarico said. “Many of my Republican colleagues lost their seats because they dared to impeach the most corrupt politician in Texas. Now, those same billionaire pastors are helping Elon Musk install their puppet in the United States Senate. But this Senate seat doesn’t belong to Tim Dunn. This Senate seat doesn’t belong to Farris Wilks. This Senate seat doesn’t belong to Elon Musk. This Senate seat belongs to you.”Talarico and Paxton are locked in a tight battle to replace Texas Senator John Cornyn, who lost the Republican primary to Paxton in a May runoff. Polling shows Talarico narrowly ahead of Paxton. With Democrats close to winning a state that hasn’t had a Democratic senator in decades, the race has become one of the most watched in the nation.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads