Senate candidate Talarico appears at CNN town hall in Fort Worth

Who's involved

• James TalaricoDemocratic state representative running for U.S. Senate
• Ken PaxtonRepublican Attorney General running for U.S. Senate
• CNNHost of town hall
• JubileeCo-organizer of town hall
• Erin BurnettModerator
• Paul BegalaDemocratic strategist commenting on town hall
• Chris GustafsonSpokesperson for Senate Leadership Fund

The facts

• Talarico appeared at the CNN town hall after more than a week off the campaign trail with the flu.^{1 2} Stated by 2 sources
• The Fort Worth audience included around 20 Texas Democrats, 20 independents and 20 Republicans.^{1 2} Stated by 2 sources
• A Marist University poll released Wednesday found 8% of Republican voters backed Talarico.^{1 2} Stated by 2 sources
• Ken Paxton was invited by CNN to participate in the town hall but did not respond.^{1 2} Stated by 2 sources
• Talarico has challenged Paxton to debate; Paxton has not agreed to five TV network debate invitations including Fox News.^{1 2} Stated by 2 sources
• Early voting begins four days after the town hall.^{1 2} Stated by 2 sources
• Talarico is a state representative from Austin.^{1 2} Stated by 2 sources
• The town hall was moderated by Erin Burnett and aired at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday.⁵

Who said what

These are statements and claims made by the people involved. They are reported, not verified.

• James Talarico We have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis.^{1 2}
• Paul Begala, Democratic strategist This was a heat-seeking missile at Republican voters who supported John Cornyn but don't like Ken Paxton.^{1 2}
• Chris Gustafson, Senate Leadership Fund James Talarico couldn't defend his record of supporting the far-left's extreme agenda at the expense of Texas working families; he is simply too liberal and too dangerous for Texas.^{1 2}
• Conservative influencers and Paxton's allies Talarico had been at a mental health facility in Ohio.⁵