Internal polling finds Paxton topping Talarico in Texas US Senate race
An internal poll showed Paxton leading Talarico, while his senior adviser argued that undecided voters were breaking toward him.
SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYThe El Paso Times is an established local newspaper, and the article identifies its author. The short report relies on an internal poll and a campaign adviser’s claims, limiting the independent evidence presented here.
- Source type — Established local news outlet with a newsroom and regional reporting operation.
- Author attribution — The story names its reporter and provides a contact address.
- Editorial standards — The publisher is a recognized newspaper, though this brief story offers little detail about its reporting process.
- Transparency — Identifies the polling firm and reports sample size and field dates.
The article gives the poll’s sponsor, sample size, field dates and topline result, and identifies the firm as conservative. It provides no methodology details beyond those basics and offers no response from Talarico or an independent assessment of the poll; a Paxton adviser’s partisan claims receive substantial space.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article reports the poll’s result and basic details, including the polling firm’s conservative orientation. But it includes a lengthy partisan attack from Paxton’s adviser without a response or independent context about the poll’s reliability.
- Source diversity — The poll and a Paxton campaign adviser are the principal sources; no Talarico response or independent expert appears.
- Counterarguments presented — The article includes no counterargument to the adviser’s claims about Talarico.
- Omitted context — It gives limited methodology information and no comparison with other current polling.
The report presents a poll showing Paxton ahead but gives extended space to his adviser’s attacks on Talarico without a response from Talarico or his campaign. The polling firm’s conservative identity is disclosed, tempering but not eliminating the right-leaning presentation.
- Source selection — The poll is from a firm identified as conservative, and the story quotes Paxton’s senior adviser but no Talarico representative.
- Framing — The opening emphasizes Paxton taking the lead, while the central result is presented with limited independent context.
- Omission — No counterstatement from Talarico or independent polling analysis is included.
An internal poll found Ken Paxton leading James Talarico 48% to 45% in the Texas U.S. Senate race, with undecided voters reportedly shifting toward Paxton. The poll came from a conservative polling firm, and Paxton’s senior adviser criticized Talarico in a campaign statement.
Pulse Decision Science said its poll of 800 likely voters, conducted Sept. 24–27 and released Sept. 29, showed Republican Ken Paxton leading Democrat James Talarico 48% to 45%. The article describes it as the first poll in weeks to show Paxton ahead. The winner will replace outgoing Sen. John Cornyn, and the poll found undecided voters had fallen from 11% in May to 4%.
Pulse Decision Science is described as a conservative polling, data and behavioral science firm. Paxton senior adviser Nick Maddux said undecided voters were breaking toward Paxton and criticized Talarico’s positions on taxes and oil and gas.
Community verdict
VOTING CLOSEDNo good or bad look here
This story reports what happened without casting Paxton in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward Paxton’s record.
People in this story
SWIPE →Republican candidate in the Texas U.S. Senate race and the poll’s leader
Democratic candidate in the Texas U.S. Senate race
Talarico's version of this story ↗Outgoing Texas senator whose seat is being contested
Part of a bigger story
5 OUTLETSA Republican super PAC spent $131 million over 17 days supporting Ken Paxton’s Texas Senate campaign, about $7.7 million per day. Left-leaning outlets focus on a television host’s rebuke of Paxton after a report that he criticized Trump. Center outlets and right-leaning outlets both foreground pro-Paxton campaign spending; center outlets also examine ad allocation, while right-leaning outlets add Paxton’s announced $20 million ad buy amid a close race.
- ARTICLES
- 6
- OUTLETS
- 5
- AVG CRED
- 60
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