A new internal poll from Texas Republicans shows Attorney General Ken Paxton leading Democratic state Rep. James Talarico 48 percent to 45 percent in the race for Texas’s U.S. Senate seat, with Libertarian candidate Brown drawing 3 percent and 4 percent of voters undecided.
The poll, released by the Texas GOP, comes as Talarico’s campaign has pressed for a debate against Paxton, a request Paxton’s camp has not agreed to as of this report.
Separately, comments from progressive streamer Hasan Piker about Talarico have drawn criticism from Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas’s 30th District.
In a video circulating online, Piker said of Talarico’s prospects: “Hopefully, inshallah, after James Talarico wins,” before describing Texas as a “no Sharia state.” He went on to say: “After James Talarico wins, we gotta hold him to account. We have to make sure that he doesn’t become another do-nothing Democrat, business as usual. And we gotta keep up that pressure. We have to remind him that we are the force that backed him early on and we are the force that allowed him to win this seat of power, and if he wants to maintain it, he’s got to play ball.”
Gill responded to the clip by writing on social media, “James Talarico will be nothing more than a puppet of the radical left.”
Piker, who is based in California and has a large following for his political commentary, has previously made similar statements about Michigan Senate Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed, claiming influence over his campaign as well.
Talarico’s campaign has not issued a public response to Piker’s comments as of this writing. The race remains one of the most closely watched Senate contests of the 2026 midterm cycle, with control of the chamber at stake nationally.
