Republicans uniting to beat Talerico: Paxton tells 'Ruthless'

In an exclusive interview following last week's runoff victory in Texas, Republican nominee Ken Paxton told the Ruthless Podcast that his party is uniting behind him to beat Democrat State Rep. James Talarico in the general election.

"We've got to go on and beat the Democrat. That's the key. The guy that I'm running against, as you well know, is quite radical and maybe would have trouble getting elected in California if he's so radical," the Texas Attorney General said in an interview that will be released Thursday morning. 

After receiving President Donald Trump's endorsement, Paxton defeated incumbent Senator John Cornyn. With Republicans currently holding a 53-47 majority in the Senate, Democrats hope that Talarico will flip the pivotal Longhorn State seat blue.

Talarico has faced controversy for comments where he cited his faith to defend abortion, referred to God as non-binary, and said the subject he thinks about most is transgender children. In a state known for its barbecue, Talarico also committed to running a "no-meat campaign" in 2022.

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Podcast co-host John Ashbrook noted that Democrats are trying to reshape Talarico's image heading into the general election.

"This guy is somebody who is a complete lunatic, and they are trying to reshape his image into something that everybody knows it's not," Ashbrook said. "I mean, you can see their tweets. You can see they're all working overtime to try to pretend like this guy is some kind of moderate, and we know that he is a left-wing lunatic."

Paxton visited the DC studio on a trip to the capital city to meet with President Trump and Senate Republicans. The candidate was seen walking out of Senate Majority Leader John Thune's (R-S.D.) office on Wednesday.

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In his first interview since the meeting, Paxton told the Fellas that it was his first time meeting Thune in person.  

"I don't think I'd ever met him, actually, in person," Paxton said. "[Thune was] very gracious, I think [we had] a good conversation about the future and working together and making sure that we make sure that Texas stays Republican because we need it to. If we lose Texas, I think the whole country's in trouble."

Bloomberg previously reported that Paxton had scheduled a fundraiser with the state's other senator, Ted Cruz.  In follow-up reporting, the Washington Reporter covered that Senators Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) would cohost Cruz's event.

Paxton's interview took place as part of the Ruthless Midterm Interview Series, an ongoing initiative to interview major candidates across the country. The hosts have already interviewed candidates in 15 states, with more scheduled ahead of the November midterms. 

Texans will head to the polls for the general election on November 3rd to decide between Paxton and Talarico.