Texas State Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, stated on Wednesday that his opponent, state Attorney General Ken Paxton, is deceiving Texans through a newly released artificial intelligence advertisement that he claims puts words into his mouth. In a Wednesday interview with CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe, Talarico asserted that the use of AI to mislead voters aligns with Paxton’s character. Paxton’s ad, published this week, features an AI-generated version of Talarico reading from a ‘King James Talarico’ bible and highlights prior remarks made by Talarico regarding Christianity, gender, and statements about God being nonbinary. When questioned by O’Keefe about whether the ad reflected past comments, Talarico responded that not all of those statements were accurate, pointing to Paxton’s 2023 impeachment by the state House on allegations of abuse of the public trust, bribery, and obstruction of justice. Talarico also noted a recent campaign ad featuring Paxton’s former director of law enforcement, who endorsed the Democratic candidate. Expressing confidence that voters across party lines will reject Paxton, Talarico stated that his own campaign relies entirely on human-made advertisements and vowed to avoid political AI. The candidates are competing in a high-profile, potentially historic and expensive November Senate race following Paxton’s primary runoff victory in May against incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn. Talarico criticized the political climate, advocating for a serious approach to lower costs, while contrasting his campaign’s focus on community service with a Republican donor event in Dallas. Democrats aim to break a decades-long losing streak in Texas Senate elections, dating back to 1988. Following the primary, the Cook Political Report shifted the race rating from likely Republican to leaning Republican, and subsequently to a toss-up in August. Comparing the current campaign to the 2018 race between Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke, Talarico emphasized that his campaign represents a unique grassroots movement driven by traditional values of honesty, integrity, and public service.
Source: cbsnews.com
