KSEV Mornings · October 15, 2026 · Hour 1
Why nobody challenged James Talarico’s record at the CNN town hall, why Ken Paxton has to get on a stage, and callers on hospitals, polls and effort.
The Talarico CNN town hall set the agenda for Thursday’s first hour, and Craig Coglianese and Wayne Dolcefino kept coming back to one point: nobody pushed back on James Talarico’s record. Here is how the town hall landed in the KSEV studio, and what the hosts say Ken Paxton should do about it.
Reactions to the Talarico CNN town hall
The hosts agreed Talarico comes across as a really nice guy who seems to believe his own faith, even if it is not theirs. One host said a friend from his Fox 26 “What’s Your Point” chat group, Bill King, who ran for mayor, texted that Talarico was “hitting it out of the park,” and took that as a sign of how independent-minded Republicans may have felt.
Their complaint was the format. The follow-up questions, they said, ignored the biggest issues, and even the question about Talarico’s flu moved on quickly. When an audience member asked him to promise he would not just vote with the New York, California and Chicago crowd, the hosts said he answered that he is running to be a senator for all people, not the Democratic Party. Their reply: of course he will vote with the Democrats.
Bipartisan claims versus the voting record
The hosts noted how often Talarico said he worked with Republicans in the Texas Legislature. One host pointed out that Trump says he wants to be a president for everybody too, and that every politician says it. Their argument was that the better line of attack is what Talarico has voted for, not what he says, including votes they described as limiting oil and gas drilling, even after he called himself an everything solution on CNN.
Paxton, “not pretty” and the case for a debate
Craig said the only real way to challenge Talarico is to put Paxton on the stage next to him, and that after CNN Paxton has no choice but to debate. One host said that if he were Paxton, he would lean into President Trump’s comment that he is not pretty, own it, and tell voters he is running to take Texas values to the Senate. Craig repeated his invitation for Paxton to join the show, and Wayne said that even though he has sued Paxton’s office over public records, he still wants a senator who votes the way he would.
The abortion question and the Bible
Both hosts thought Talarico’s answer on abortion, that the Bible is silent on it, hurt him. They said the best pushback of the night came from an audience member who disagreed with him, and she told the post-show interviewers his answer did not satisfy her. That led to a detour about cats and dogs: Wayne said he had two cats once, they peed on his bed, and he got rid of them. Craig joked about running as a senator for all animals.
Voter ID, the border and the SAVE America Act
The hosts said Talarico would not support the SAVE America Act, and that the town hall question about voter ID was framed around gun permits and gift cards instead of the bill’s actual aim of making sure only citizens vote. One host said both Talarico and Paxton would be the type of senator their parties put on television for a key vote. Wayne said the Texas Republican Party should fire its media people after the election and should have played Talarico’s own words on oil and gas, and the hosts called the CNN event a “Talarico pep rally.”
Mark on Paxton, Gina Hinojosa and the polls
Mark, calling from Chapel Hill, said Paxton’s record shows he is a man of action and predicted he will win by more than five or six points. He also asked why Greg Abbott would worry about Gina Hinojosa. The hosts said they distrust polls but pay attention to betting markets such as Kalshi and to the money Republicans are spending in Texas. They said Paxton is polling around 86 percent among Republicans and needs the 90s, and warned about Cornyn voters staying home.
David on rural hospital closures: 21, not 84
David, a regular caller from California, said Texas is about to lose 84 hospitals, or 51 percent of its rural hospitals, because of the “big beautiful bill.” The hosts pushed back on the number. One host said only 21 rural hospitals have closed since the start of 2025, out of 153 in the state, and that staffing and finances played a role beyond the bill. The call got heated, and One host said the exchange showed how a headline can oversimplify a complicated story.
Is healthcare a human right, and who pays?
One host said Talarico called healthcare a human right and asked how much it would cost and how it can be done without raising taxes, adding that he would have asked Talarico to commit to not raising his taxes. Craig also told a story about an emergency appendectomy in Chicago in his twenties to make the point that not every hospital does the job well.
Dale on whether Paxton deserves to win
Dale called to question Craig’s comment that Talarico could win a race he does not deserve to win. Dale said Paxton has not campaigned hard enough. Craig answered that Paxton deserves to win because he better represents the average Texan on abortion, oil and gas and border security, and agreed Paxton has been less prominent than he should have been. Craig said Paxton still needs a bigger platform, and that means debating. Wayne disagreed, saying Paxton can reach voters through social media, ads and friendly interviews.
Hear Craig and Wayne live weekdays from 7–9 AM Central on AM 700 KSEV, The Voice of Texas. Visit the KSEV Mornings show page for live-listening controls and more episodes.
