Both Paxton and Talarico have voted against funding border security

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) – As the U.S. Senate race between Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democrat state Sen. James Talarico heats up, both are making border security a campaign issue.

Paxton, who sued the Biden administration scores of times related to Texas border security, and won most of these lawsuits, says he’s “running to help President Trump finish the border wall and protect our national sovereignty.” He says if elected, he will also “help President Trump deport the criminal illegal aliens Joe Biden invited into the country.” He’s been endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council. 

On Wednesday, Paxton held a news conference in north Texas with 20 sheriffs, many of whom aren’t involved in border security. He also discussed his support for law enforcement stating, “When it wasn’t popular to stand with law enforcement, I stood with law enforcement. When politicians attacked our officers, I fought back.”

The majority of sheriffs fighting border crime in south Texas, nearly all law enforcement organizations, and many south Texas ranchers and groups, endorsed incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, The Center Square reported. Paxton defeated Cornyn in the March primary runoff election.

During the primary race, Paxton criticized Cornyn for a statement he made about border wall construction from coast to coast was impractical, a position held by many in the law enforcement community. Multiple border county sheriffs, as well as judges, ranchers, Republicans and Democrats, oppose Big Bend and other border wall construction in Texas. 

Prior to being elected attorney general, Paxton served in the Texas Senate. While a state senator, he was one of four Republicans who voted against funding border security by voting against SB 1 in May 2013. The bill increased funding for Texas’ border security efforts by more than $118 million. It also allocated funding for veterans and supported raises for law enforcement. 

On Wednesday, Paxton also touted his voting record supporting law enforcement and said, “James Talarico is a serious threat to public safety and a proven enemy of the men and women who wear the badge.”

Ryan Martin with Texas Democrats criticized Paxton, saying as he campaigns on border security, “Texans deserve answers on why he opposed border funding when he was in the state legislature. Texans know the truth though, when it comes to Ken Paxton, the only vote people can ever count on him for is to further himself.” 

Talarico has been traveling the state going to border communities including launching his “Frontera tour.” He was recently joined by Republicans and Democrats in the Big Bend region who oppose border wall construction. 

His border security plan includes comprehensive immigration reform, prioritizing deportation of criminals, creating a legal pathway for foreign nationals who are in the country illegally, reforming the asylum system, creating a program for Americans to easily hire “migrant workers,” among other policies.  

While serving in the Texas House, Talarico voted against SB 602 (expanded Border Patrol authority to arrest illegal foreign nationals for state felony offenses), SB 1403 (authorized interstate cooperation and assistance for defensive border infrastructure) and SB 8 (provided funds to support sheriffs participating in ICE 287(g) program).  

“James Talarico has a long streak of lying to voters, but the truth is, no one, not a soul, looks at James Talarico and thinks: ‘now there’s a guy who will be tough on the cartel.’ And, they would be right. He never has been tough on the border. James Talarico is a hypocrite who has taken a page out of the Joe Biden playbook: talks tough but, when it comes down to it, he wants America and Texas to be a place of lawlessness and he wants the American dream dead,” Paxton said in a statement.

The last Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate seat Paxton and Talarico are hoping to fill was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1948. He resigned in 1961 to become the vice president. His appointed replacement lost his election to Republican John Tower in 1961. Republican Phil Gramm was next elected to the seat in 1984, followed by Cornyn in 2002.

The last Democrat to be elected to Texas’ other U.S. Senate seat was Lloyd Bentsen from Houston in 1988. He served until 1993, when he was appointed U.S. Treasury Secretary. Kay Bailey Hutchison flipped his seat red in a special election in 1993. She held the seat until Ted Cruz was elected to fill it in 2012. 

Prior to 1988, Democrats held both U.S. Senate seats dating to Reconstruction. Both seats weren’t held by Republicans until Gramm and Hutchison. In the last few decades Texas has become more Republican and conservative.  

Republican strategists have expressed concerns that Paxton is losing the fundraising battle. In one quarter, Talarico raised $30 million and Paxton raised $9 million.  

According to multiple polls, the race is statistically tied, The Center Square reported.