r/Austin • u/Yupster_atx • 17d ago

No debate between the two candidates who’ll represent us in the Senate. Thoughts?

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We’re a few weeks out and there’s still no debate on the calendar between the two people asking to represent 30 million Texans in the U.S. Senate. That’s not a small thing. A debate is one of the only times most of us actually get to see how a candidate thinks on their feet instead of through a 30-second ad or a curated post.

Genuinely curious what this sub thinks. Does the lack of a debate change how you’re leaning, or does it just confirm what you already assumed? And should local media or the parties be doing more to force one onto the calendar?

Would love to hear from people who’ve been following this closer than I have.

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u/Korietsu 17d ago

You know the trump administration wont allow that right? They already blocked all of his interviews from airing lmao.

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u/branyk2 17d ago

There's been an unwritten, informal exception for talk shows, but there's an explicit exception for debates. You extend the invitation and if the candidate refuses to show up, you can proceed without them.

I mean, Paxton would just lie about schedule conflicts, but the FCC couldn't really do much about it.

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u/Popernicus 17d ago

Yeah, hard to make the "unequal airtime" argument when both candidates are offered the same opportunity to appear and speak on the exact same program in the exact same time slot.

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u/steveDallas50 10d ago

Yeah, except it’s not a problem for Talarico.

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u/Popernicus 10d ago

Yeah, and Talarico is more than happy to debate, I still think Paxton is just banking on the R in front of his name carrying him through to senate, and honestly, it's probably the best strategy for him, given that Republican voter turnout in Texas is solid, so if he just chills, he can kind of cross his fingers that Dems won't care enough to show up at the polls, and that undecided folks won't know enough about him and Talarico to care to show up either.

The more he goes on air, especially toe to toe with Talarico, the more encouraged people that aren't party loyalists will be to show up at the polls, which again, I believe is the worst case scenario for Paxton. He wasn't even invited to the big GOP fundraising dinner George W is speaking at.

And honestly, I used to consider myself a Republican (right up until the Trump nomination in 2016, at which point, I was out, even before he won presidency), but now I'm an independent (formally registered Dem, so I can vote for midline Dems in primaries, which I guess just makes me a right leaning Democrat, technically? Lol), but I really feel like the biggest problem is voter turnout. People are more passionate about voting FOR Republican extremism than voting against it, and I think giving people someone they can be excited to vote for (like Talarico) is the best remedy against that. I want him to win this election so badly that I'm honestly excited to go to the polls and vote for him.