Ken Paxton's attorney in his impeachment trial endorses James Talarico in US Senate race
Talarico received an endorsement from Ken Paxton's former impeachment-trial lawyer.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates Yahoo News, where this article appeared. The other scores rate the article itself.
The article is an Associated Press report, a wire service with established editorial standards and a strong record of original reporting. Yahoo News is republishing the wire report rather than providing the reporting itself.
- Source type — Associated Press wire reporting is generally highly reliable.
- Editorial standards — The article attributes statements to named sources and presents a campaign response.
- Author attribution — The report is credited to Jesse Bedayn and identified as AP reporting.
The report attributes its central claims to named participants and includes responses from Paxton's campaign and another member of his defense team. It provides limited detail about Talarico's position or the broader race, but the coverage is concise and generally precise.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article presents Cogdell's criticism and includes responses from Paxton's campaign and a lawyer who supports him. It offers little direct comment from either candidate or further context about the race.
- Counterarguments presented — Paxton's campaign and a defense lawyer who supports Paxton respond to the endorsement.
- Source diversity — The report quotes Cogdell and includes comments from Paxton's political and legal allies.
- Omitted context — Neither Senate candidate gives a direct comment in the article.
The article reports the endorsement, Cogdell's criticism and responses from Paxton's campaign and another defense lawyer in largely neutral language. The critical remarks are attributed to their speakers rather than presented as the article's own judgment.
- Language tone — The language is mainly descriptive and avoids overtly partisan labels.
- Source selection — The report includes Cogdell's comments as well as responses supporting Paxton.
- Framing — The story frames the endorsement as a development in the Senate race without endorsing a candidate.
Cites Associated Press
This article cites Associated Press as its original publisher. ChamberLight has not verified that it is a republication, so the scores are Yahoo News's own.
457 stories · 96–97 · updated Oct 5, 2026
This is Associated Press's own score. The Source Check scores are for Yahoo News and this article.
Dan Cogdell, a lawyer who defended Ken Paxton in his impeachment trial, endorsed James Talarico in the Texas U.S. Senate race, criticizing Paxton's focus on appeasing Donald Trump. Paxton's campaign dismissed the endorsement as unsurprising, while another member of his defense team said he supports Paxton.
Dan Cogdell, who represented Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for nearly a decade and was part of Paxton's defense team during his 2023 impeachment trial, endorsed Democrat James Talarico. Cogdell said he believed lawmakers were right to acquit Paxton but criticized him as a politician for focusing too much on appeasing President Donald Trump.
Paxton's campaign aide called the endorsement unsurprising, and Tony Buzbee, another Paxton defense lawyer, said he supports Paxton in the race. Talarico's campaign has made Paxton's legal troubles an attack line. Paxton recently won the Republican Senate primary runoff against Sen. John Cornyn, with Trump's endorsement helping him, according to the article.
Community verdict
VOTING CLOSEDNo good or bad look here
This story reports what happened without casting Talarico in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward Talarico’s record.
People in this story
SWIPE →Democratic candidate in the Texas U.S. Senate race and recipient of Cogdell's endorsement
Republican candidate in the Texas U.S. Senate race and Cogdell's former client
Paxton's version of this story ↗President whose endorsement helped Paxton in the Republican Senate primary runoff
Texas senator defeated by Paxton in the Republican Senate primary runoff
Part of a bigger story
30 OUTLETSOutlets agree that Dan Cogdell, Ken Paxton’s former attorney, endorsed James Talarico in the Texas U.S. Senate race. Left-leaning outlets connect the endorsement to Talarico’s cross-party coalition and, in some coverage, present it as a rebuke to Paxton. Center outlets mostly report the endorsement, Cogdell’s criticism of Paxton and the response from Paxton’s camp, with some noting Talarico’s coalition appeal. Right-leaning outlets range from straightforward endorsement coverage to questioning its significance, while one article instead focuses on photos of Talarico eating meat.
- ARTICLES
- 31
- OUTLETS
- 30
- AVG CRED
- 72
Discussion · 0
Loading comments…



