Oct 21, 2026 · 28 min · 13 segments
The Journal’s Jack Butler joins the show to debrief a reporting trip to Texas and how James Talarico is wooing Republican voters who aren’t warm to Ken Paxton. Plus, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby…
Jack ButlerGuestKate Batchelder OdellHost
Alicia FinleyGuestAnd we're going to jump into it first with my colleague, free expression editor and contributor to our pages, Jack Butler.
Jack, what When I look at the polls, particularly in the Senate race, it looks to me like Democrat James Tallarico is narrowly leading Republican Ken Paxton.
So first, tell us a little bit about where you were romping around in Texas and give us your pre-election bet on the outcome, particularly in that Senate race.
Where was I tooling around? So during my week in Texas, I had the chance to see a rally of Ken Paxton in Tyler, Texas, which I think is well known for football, although probably true of everywhere, every town in Texas.
And then I went to a James Tallarico rally in San Marcos, which is sort of a suburb of Austin, I guess is the best way to describe it.
And what I found was a race that fans of both candidate are treating as competitive.
Now, there are some Republicans who quite understandably think that the Tallarico thing is a mirage to the extent that he seems like he's winning, as he is shown in most polls, or as at least competitive.
Other Republicans I talk to, they seem genuinely worried, and they have reason to be worried.
This is a national political environment in which the primary issues are not, for whatever reason, playing well for Republicans.
Those are two buzzwords that Democrats love to invoke all the time, that James Tallarico is invoking all the time.
You have a primary that left some Republican voters in the state sour, in which John Cornyn, the incumbent Republican senator, was defeated with Trump's endorsement.
So just those factors alone create a challenging political environment for a Republican Senate candidate in Texas.
And that's before even getting to who Ken Paxton is, which I'm happy to get to in just a moment if you'd like me to elaborate on Ken Paxton's unique status as a candidate.
But first, why don't you give us a little bit more detail on the pitch Tyler Rico is making? What is he telling voters about why those who might typically be inclined to vote for Republican candidates should vote for him, particularly when he does have this, especially on cultural issues, this hard left background and has said things like God is non-binary and other things that you would not expect to play well in Tyler, Texas.
And we're going to jump into it first with my colleague, free expression editor and contributor to our pages, Jack Butler.
Jack, what When I look at the polls, particularly in the Senate race, it looks to me like Democrat James Tallarico is narrowly leading Republican Ken Paxton.
So first, tell us a little bit about where you were romping around in Texas and give us your pre-election bet on the outcome, particularly in that Senate race.
Where was I tooling around? So during my week in Texas, I had the chance to see a rally of Ken Paxton in Tyler, Texas, which I think is well known for football, although probably true of everywhere, every town in Texas.
And then I went to a James Tallarico rally in San Marcos, which is sort of a suburb of Austin, I guess is the best way to describe it.
And what I found was a race that fans of both candidate are treating as competitive.
Now, there are some Republicans who quite understandably think that the Tallarico thing is a mirage to the extent that he seems like he's winning, as he is shown in most polls, or as at least competitive.
Other Republicans I talk to, they seem genuinely worried, and they have reason to be worried.
This is a national political environment in which the primary issues are not, for whatever reason, playing well for Republicans.
Those are two buzzwords that Democrats love to invoke all the time, that James Tallarico is invoking all the time.
You have a primary that left some Republican voters in the state sour, in which John Cornyn, the incumbent Republican senator, was defeated with Trump's endorsement.
So just those factors alone create a challenging political environment for a Republican Senate candidate in Texas.
And that's before even getting to who Ken Paxton is, which I'm happy to get to in just a moment if you'd like me to elaborate on Ken Paxton's unique status as a candidate.
But first, why don't you give us a little bit more detail on the pitch Tyler Rico is making? What is he telling voters about why those who might typically be inclined to vote for Republican candidates should vote for him, particularly when he does have this, especially on cultural issues, this hard left background and has said things like God is non-binary and other things that you would not expect to play well in Tyler, Texas.
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