Talarico: Paxton "clipping my cringey comments to distract from his career of corruption"

Politics Talarico says Paxton is "clipping my cringey comments to distract from his career of corruption" By Ed O'Keefe, Ed O'Keefe Senior White House and Political Correspondent Ed O'Keefe is CBS News' senior White House and political correspondent reporting for all CBS News platforms. He's part of the team covering President Trump and covered all four years of Joe Biden's presidency. From the White House to the campaign trail, O'Keefe's reports stretch from the politics of the moment to how policy enacted in Washington affects the nation and the world. Read Full Bio Ed O'Keefe, Gabrielle Ake, Kaia Hubbard Kaia Hubbard Politics Reporter Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C. Read Full Bio Kaia Hubbard May 27, 2026 / 12:35 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Texas state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in the Lone Star State, conceded Wednesday that some past statements during debates over transgender policy "missed the mark," but accused his Republican opponent Ken Paxton of "intentionally clipping my cringey comments to distract from his career of corruption."Republicans are "worried about the movement that we're building here in Texas," Talarico said, hours after Republicans overwhelmingly chose Paxton, the state attorney general, as their Senate nominee. "I think national Republicans see the momentum behind this movement, and they're worried we're going to win Texas in November," Talarico told CBS News' Ed O'Keefe in his first network news interview since Tuesday's runoff. He told O'Keefe that his campaign has been attracting huge crowds across the state, and he believes his support is expanding beyond the Democratic voter base."We've had tens of thousands of Texans showing up to rally with us. And I can't tell you the number of people who've come up to me at the end of these events and whisper, 'I'm not a Democrat,' like they're in the witness protection program," Talarico sa...