James Talarico has agreed to debate his U.S. Senate opponent, Ken Paxton, but Paxton has not accepted. He has never debated an opponent in any of his statewide campaigns. Gina Hinojosa made a similar offer to Governor Greg Abbott for a gubernatorial debate, and he hasn't responded.
Declining a debate isn't new in Texas politics. What's unusual is having zero debates across three major statewide races at once, especially when some of these same candidates have debated opponents before in other campaigns.
For voters trying to compare candidates on issues before heading to the polls, the lack of debates means fewer chances to see them face off directly. Debates often give undecided voters their clearest side-by-side look at where candidates stand. Without them, campaigns lean more heavily on ads, interviews and social media to make their case, shifting how people form opinions ahead of Election Day and relying on curated messaging instead of live, unscripted exchanges between opponents.
That leaves Texans running for some of the state's biggest offices without a shared stage against the people trying to beat them.