The hosts of ABC’s “The View” spent part of Thursday’s episode talking up Democrat James Talarico’s chances in the Texas U.S. Senate race, even as new polling shows the contest far closer than some earlier surveys suggested.
Co-host Sunny Hostin cited September polling showing Talarico ahead of Republican nominee Ken Paxton and told viewers, “I think we will see Texas go blue.” She went further, saying Talarico “is going to win this race.”
Whoopi Goldberg pushed back on that confidence. “We’ve seen this before,” she said of favorable polling. “And suddenly some weird number comes out and we say, ‘What happened?'”
Ana Navarro agreed, pointing to 2016 as a cautionary example. “2016 left me scarred,” she said, referencing Donald Trump’s upset win over Hillary Clinton. “People should have hope, but hope alone won’t win an election. People gotta turn hope into votes.” She added that “relying on polls and kind of sitting back and getting complacent is something that nobody can afford to do if they want to see change.”
The caution appears warranted. A poll taken at the end of September showed Talarico and Paxton tied at 48 percent each, a much tighter margin than the figures Hostin referenced.
Former Illinois Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich weighed in separately on social media platform X, dismissing talk of a Democratic surge in Texas. “Don’t believe the polls. There will be no blue wave. Once again, fake polling, designed, not to inform but to persuade and suppress turnout, are misleading voters,” he wrote. “I know what I’m talking about. As a twice elected Dem governor and 3 time elected Dem Congressman, I never lost an election.”
Meanwhile, Talarico’s campaign activity has slowed. On Thursday he canceled several scheduled events and dropped off the campaign trail, with no new appearances announced. His campaign said he has “the flu” and is taking time to recover.
Paxton’s campaign responded to the sudden absence by releasing a mock “missing” poster poking fun at Talarico’s disappearance from public events.
