Talarico ad criticises Biden on border, draws union fire
Texas Senate candidate's new television spot on immigration sparks debate over his past stances.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Talarico ad criticises Biden on border, draws union fire
Photograph: Newsweek (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Texas Senate candidate James Talarico released a television ad criticising Joe Biden's handling of the border.
- The National Border Patrol Union stated that Talarico does not support border security, contradicting his ad's message.
- Talarico's campaign received at least $448,000 from data-center-related executives and committees through June, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission records.
- Polls show Talarico narrowly ahead of his opponent, Ken Paxton, with an average of 48.1 percent to Paxton's 45.3 percent.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 14 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
86/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
68/100
14 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 14 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico has released a new television advertisement in which he states he "called out Joe Biden for failing us on the border." The ad also criticises Republican opponent Ken Paxton for his ties to the data center industry, alleging that Paxton "gave data centers billions in special tax breaks and they gave him nearly half a million in campaign contributions." This figure aligns with an analysis of Federal Election Commission records by NOTUS, which found Paxton's campaign received at least $448,000 from data-center-related executives and committees through June.
The Talarico campaign ad's message on border security has been challenged by the National Border Patrol Union. The union stated that Talarico "does not support border security." Newsweek reported that Talarico has made the argument about Biden's border failures since July, though Republicans have questioned when this criticism began. Talarico has cited a speech from 2022 as evidence of his stance.
Polls indicate a close race between Talarico and Paxton. The RealClearPolitics average of polls from September 18 to October 8 shows Talarico at 48.1 percent and Paxton at 45.3 percent. Newsweek reported that Talarico raised more than $27 million in the first quarter and $30 million in the second quarter of the year. AdImpact estimates total ad spending in the race has surpassed $440 million.
Disagreement on Talarico's border security stance
The National Border Patrol Union stated that James Talarico "does not support border security," according to digests from NewsBusters, The Gateway Pundit, PJ Media, RedState, and Slay News. In contrast, Talarico's campaign ad, as reported by Newsweek and Fox News, features him saying he "called out Joe Biden for failing us on the border."
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated digests mention the campaign's fundraising figures for the first two quarters of the year, which were reported by Newsweek. The right-rated digests also do not mention the total ad spending in the race, estimated by AdImpact to be over $440 million, a detail also reported by Newsweek.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 16 Oct 2026, 01:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports led on James Talarico's campaign advertisements, focusing on his criticism of Joe Biden's border policies and his attacks on Ken Paxton's ties to the data center industry. Newsweek, which provided a full report, detailed Talarico's two new television ads, one addressing the border and the other targeting Paxton's alleged financial links to data centers. This report also included polling data showing Talarico narrowly ahead and noted Talarico's fundraising figures for the first two quarters of the year. The Hill's digest focused on Talarico stating Biden "failed" on the border.
Right
12 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports focused heavily on the National Border Patrol Union's criticism of James Talarico's campaign ad regarding border security. Multiple digests, including those from NewsBusters, The Gateway Pundit, PJ Media, RedState, and Slay News, highlighted the union's statement that Talarico "does not support border security" and accused him of lying or having a "horrific border security record." Several digests, such as those from capitalisminstitute.org, WCIV, KATV, My NBC 15, and WPBN, reported that Talarico's ad claiming he called out Biden on the border contradicted his past stances or signalled an appetite for swing voters. Fox News and Slay News also mentioned Talarico's past calls to cut Texas' border security budget.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Talarico ad criticises Biden on border, draws union fire?
- Of the 14 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 14% are rated centre, 86% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Talarico ad criticises Biden on border, draws union fire left or right?
- The story itself is neither. What can be counted is who has covered it, and 86% of the 14 rated outlets on it are rated right — so far this is a story carried mostly by the right. Coverage is still arriving and that can change, which is why the figure is dated rather than fixed.
- Is the coverage of Talarico ad criticises Biden on border, draws union fire biased?
- Talarico ad criticises Biden on border, draws union fire is one event reported by 14 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Talarico ad criticises Biden on border, draws union fire?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Talarico ad criticises Biden on border, draws union fire?
- 14 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did James Talarico's new campaign ad say about the border?
- James Talarico's campaign television ad stated that he "called out Joe Biden for failing us on the border." This ad was released as part of his campaign for the Texas Senate.
- What is the National Border Patrol Union's stance on Talarico?
- The National Border Patrol Union stated that James Talarico "does not support border security." This statement contradicts the message conveyed in Talarico's recent campaign advertisement.
- How are Talarico and Paxton polling against each other?
- According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls from September 18 to October 8, James Talarico was at 48.1 percent and Ken Paxton was at 45.3 percent, indicating a narrow lead for Talarico.
Read it at the source
14 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
2Right
12- Talarico’s Claim He ‘Called Out’ Biden Is Fake News, Border Patrol Union Says (opens NewsBusters in a new tab)
NewsBusters — is NewsBusters biased? Our profile of this outlet
- National Border Patrol Union SLAMS Talarico for Lying About Supporting Border Security – “He Labeled Border Security Funding as Wasted Money” * The Gateway Pundit * by Jim Hoft (opens The Gateway Pundit in a new tab)
The Gateway Pundit — is The Gateway Pundit biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Talarico Border Ad Contradicts 2019 Security Stance (opens capitalisminstitute.org in a new tab)
capitalisminstitute.org — is capitalisminstitute.org biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Texas Democrat Talarico says Biden failed on border security (opens WPBN in a new tab)
- Texas Democrat Talarico says Biden failed on border security (opens My NBC 15 in a new tab)
- Texas Democrat Talarico says Biden failed on border security (opens KATV in a new tab)
- Texas Democrat Talarico says Biden failed on border security (opens WCIV in a new tab)
- Border Patrol Union Exposes Talarico’s Horrific Border Security Record (opens PJ Media in a new tab)
PJ Media — is PJ Media biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
Show 4 more
- Talarico Gets Nailed for Big Problem With Claim in New Ad, Shows Campaign Is in Trouble (opens RedState in a new tab)
RedState — is RedState biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- James Talarico Attacks Biden for Border Failures After Calling to Strip Texas’ Entire Security Budget (opens Slay News in a new tab)
- James Talarico torches Biden border policies in stunning attack ad as progressive tries to flip Texas blue – Democratic Accent (opens democraticaccent.com in a new tab)
democraticaccent.com — is democraticaccent.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- James Talarico torches Biden border policies in stunning attack ad as progressive tries to flip Texas blue (opens Fox News in a new tab)
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
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