Fox News Agrees to Host Texas Senate Debate as Paxton Withholds Commitment

Q: If no debate happens, which public event will give voters the clearest side-by-side test of the candidates?

If no debate happens, the closest voters are likely to get to a side-by-side comparison is the pair of U.S. Hispanic Business Council question-and-answer events, because both candidates are appearing in the same forum format and addressing many of the same issues. That is not a true head-to-head test: Paxton spoke Monday in Fort Worth and Talarico is scheduled Wednesday in Edinburg, so voters will not see direct exchanges, rebuttals or real-time fact-check pressure. But the events still offer the clearest apples-to-apples measure available if no debate is held, since both are being questioned by the same organization on overlapping topics such as immigration, the economy, energy and health care. Talarico’s Oct. 14 CNN-Jubilee town hall is likely to provide a deeper look at him individually, but it is less useful as a comparison point because Paxton declined CNN’s invitation. Likewise, local TV invitations and the proposed Texas A&M event would only become the best side-by-side test if both campaigns agreed, which they have not. So absent a debate, voters will probably have to compare the candidates by watching their separate USHBC appearances, then weighing that against ads, campaign stops and other solo interviews. It is the nearest substitute to a debate, but still a limited one.

3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 29

Fox News said Tuesday it will host a Texas Senate debate if both candidates agree, after Democrat James Talarico challenged Republican Ken Paxton to meet him on what Talarico called friendly turf.
Paxton has not committed and did not immediately comment, even though his campaign had earlier signaled openness to debates without agreeing to any specific matchup.
The standoff matters because Texas has not gone through a Senate race without a debate since 2000, raising pressure on Paxton to participate.
Both candidates are still appearing separately at U.S. Hispanic Business Council Q&As this week, while Talarico is also set for an Oct. 14 CNN-Jubilee town hall that Paxton declined.