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    "original_url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2026\/09\/24\/opinion\/focus-group-texas-voters-midterms.html?emc=edit_nn_20260924&nl=the-morning&segment_id=226986",
    "parsed_content": "What\u2019s one word that comes to mind when you hear the name James Talarico? What\u2019s one word that comes to mind when you hear the name James Talarico? \u201cFresh\u201d Hitesh, 57, Asian, Repub. \u201cInspiring\u201d Vince, 48, Asian, Dem. \u201cIneffective\u201d Lisa, 53, white, indep. Opinion America In Focus \u2018They Picked the Wrong Candidate\u2019: 12 Texas Swing Voters on the Paxton-Talarico Race Share full article For years, Democrats have hoped to win a Senate seat in Texas, which has not elected a Democrat statewide since the 1990s. According to polling, that hope appears to be closer in reach this year than any other time in recent memory. Why?This month, Times Opinion spoke with 12 Texans who voted for President Trump in 2024 and now either were considering voting for James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for Senate, or were undecided about whether to vote in that race at all.Many spoke of their love of Texas and its commitment to a strong economy and hospitality, but this group of voters was broadly dissatisfied with the state of the country, the economy and especially politics. Many talked about both major parties being captured by extremes and incapable of working together or speaking well of others. Several participants said they were glad that border security was tighter, but several were unhappy with the way Immigration and Customs Enforcement has operated under Mr. Trump. A few said they couldn\u2019t understand the choices Mr. Trump was making; some feel burned by promises he made in 2024.\u201cYou used to think that you could count on the Republicans to be able to help out with the economy, and that they would be the ones to fix it,\u201d one participant said. \u201cBut now it\u2019s more a feeling of, it\u2019s going to fix it for a certain few.\u201dMr. Talarico, a state lawmaker, in turn, received a range of reviews. Some found him \u201cfresh\u201d and \u201cinspiring,\u201d while others disapproved of his social views.If Texas does turn blue, this group\u2019s heated and highly negative stance on Mr. Talarico\u2019s opponent \u2014 Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, who survived an impeachment effort in the Texas legislature last year over corruption allegations, which he denied \u2014 would likely provide a window into that victory. \u201cThey picked the wrong candidate,\u201d one participant said of the Republican Party. \u201cIt\u2019s him. If they picked anybody else, they would have won.\u201d By Katherine Miller, Kristen Soltis Anderson and Adrian J. Rivera Ms. Miller is an editor in Opinion. Ms. Anderson is a pollster. Mr. Rivera is an associate staff editor in Opinion. Participants Becky 51, Democrat, white, retail Dennis 62, Republican, white, retired Erica 40, Republican, Latino, customer service Hitesh 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work Jeffrey 34, independent, Latino, school counselor Jennifer 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent Lisa 53, independent, white, technology consultant Pam 66, Republican, white, retired Robert S. 52, Republican, Latino, human resources Robert D. 63, independent, white, retired Sebastian 50, independent, white, utility manager Vince 48, Democrat, Asian, auditor Transcript Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson All of you have lived in Texas for 10 or more years. What has changed the most about Texas in the time that you have lived in the state? Hitesh, 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work The real estate prices have shot up like crazy in the last decade or so. So has the cost of living. Becky, 51, Democrat, white, retail Twenty years ago, you didn\u2019t have half the infrastructure you do now. You didn\u2019t have half these shopping malls and stuff like that. There\u2019s been a lot of development. Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired I think that the culture of Texas has changed. It\u2019s gotten a lot more diverse, I would say, in the last 10 to 20 years. Jeffrey, 34, independent, Latino, school counselor The initial joy of living here over the last decade has definitely deteriorated. I don\u2019t love living here anymore. I don\u2019t like the weather. It\u2019s like a desert seven months of the year. Initially, I thought I could deal with it. Now it\u2019s like I\u2019ve got to hibernate for a few months of the year. Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources I agree about the weather. Everything west of I-35 feels like desert conditions. Everything east of 35 feels like a swamp, as far as humidity.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson And has that changed in the last 10 years? Is that different? Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources It feels like the summers are hotter and the winters are colder. And the cities have grown so much. When I was a kid, San Antonio to Houston seemed so far away. Now you\u2019re at the edge of one and into the other within about two hours.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson What is the top issue you think Texans are facing right now? Vince, 48, Democrat, Asian, auditor I consider myself kind of upper-middle class, I guess. So I feel like right now the buying power of middle-class America is really shrinking. The cost of living here is so high, and it\u2019s probably on par with other cities, like Chicago and New York and L.A. I feel like that\u2019s a problem because a lot of people here are basically living paycheck to paycheck and they don\u2019t have savings because, like I said, the higher cost of living, layoffs. The buying power of the middle class is not as strong as it used to be back in the 2010s. Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service Minimum wage is so low here. And property taxes just keep getting higher and higher. I own my house. Just with the property taxes alone, it\u2019s still expensive, even though it\u2019s paid off. Everything\u2019s going up except for our paychecks. Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent I say the top issues are immigration, border control and homelessness. In the past five, seven years, it\u2019s just gotten so bad. Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired I agree with the first gentleman who spoke: There is very little middle class anymore. And there\u2019s so much poverty in this state. It\u2019s either the haves or have-nots. We also face poor education. Our public schools are just getting worse. More people are leaving them. I don\u2019t believe that we\u2019re giving our students the education they deserve. Robert D., 63, independent, white, retired Well, there are several issues. Cost of living, immigration, the skyrocketing housing costs, insurance for these houses, health insurance. Everything is just priced out of range for the average American, for the average Texan, if you will. Education is getting worse. Dennis, 62, Republican, white, retired I\u2019m going to agree with all the folks, and I\u2019m going to add that over the last 10 years, we\u2019ve seen a significant amount of negative rhetoric from our leaders. It\u2019s causing people to be disrespectful of each other in Texas. They\u2019re making rivals out of other people within our same state here.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson What, if anything, do you think leaders in Washington should be focused on first when it comes to the issue of the economy? Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant I don\u2019t understand the tariffs, but what I understand is that they will eventually come to affect me in cost of goods, including with the retaliation tariffs. Somebody needs to be looking at the economy as a whole and somehow address the rising cost of living, and the inflation that is going too fast to keep up with salary increases or pay increases. I feel like that needs to be addressed as more of a whole package than one-offs here and there. Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager I think it starts with our national deficit and just government spending overall \u2014 get that under control. Because I think everything flows from that. I mean, we\u2019re writing checks that somebody\u2019s got to cash eventually, and we\u2019re just spending money left and right. Our deficit is in the trillions now. That\u2019s not sustainable for the future. And the fact that they\u2019re not working together, just constantly \u2014 they can\u2019t agree on the color of the sky.Moderator, Katherine Miller How would you describe the political culture of Texas? When you think about politics in Texas today, how would you describe it? Hitesh, 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work It\u2019s definitely a very conservative state. I lived in Texas, and I was in California for 10 years and went back to Texas. It\u2019s conservative, yet tolerant and accepting. There\u2019s a strong resistance against immigration. And it should be legal. That\u2019s how I came in. But at the same time, I think, with all the various cultures and different migration coming in, it has evolved in the last 20, 25 years. I\u2019ve seen it move into a very, very endearing and educated and industrialized direction. But the economy is a big challenge. They\u2019re encouraging manufacturing, which is good. But I need to see more. Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent You\u2019re either a Republican or a Democrat. Either you\u2019re one or the other. You\u2019re not going to sway to one side or the other, just because they\u2019re very different here in Texas. Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired I think we are following the nation. We used to all have different opinions on politics, and we could still all get along. There were compromises, but we could be with family. One might believe in one thing and one might believe another, but we could all still be together. And as it is in the country, I think Texas is getting further and further apart. It\u2019s gotten very nasty. We\u2019ve always been a very kind state, I\u2019ve always thought. And I don\u2019t feel like we\u2019re very kind anymore.Moderator, Katherine Miller To Jennifer\u2019s point, are there ever people who switch parties when it comes to who they\u2019re voting for? Or are people pretty set? Jeffrey, 34, independent, Latino, school counselor Texas voters just have so much pride. I think a lot of them are stuck in what they believe and are not open to potentially changing their points of view despite hearing credible information, opinions, life experiences. It\u2019s really hard to change someone\u2019s opinion on whatever topic it may be, especially those that are more historically conservative. Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources For the most part, you\u2019re not going to see a lot of flip-flopping. You\u2019re either leaning on the conservative side, you\u2019re leaning on the liberal side, or you\u2019re all the way to the extreme. Being in the digital age, my fear is that people, especially us as older Americans, take what we see through digital media, the Facebooks and the TikToks and all that stuff, that they take that as fact more than an opinion. There\u2019s probably not enough fact-checking in the world. And people just take what they heard, or pieces of what they heard, or what they think is, and they just run with it. Now that becomes their truth. Becky, 51, Democrat, white, retail I\u2019m just going to speak on myself. I\u2019m the type of individual who is going to vote for who I think would do a better job in the office. It doesn\u2019t matter if they\u2019re independent, Democrat, Republican. I just want to vote for the person I personally think is going to do the better job in the office. Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager I just think, me being the same thing, I\u2019m kind of down the middle, independent, lean more conservative most of the time. So most of the time, I vote Republican.Moderator, Katherine Miller In the 1990s, Texas elected statewide Democratic officials. Gov. Ann Richards was one of them. There have been a lot of high-profile races in the last decade, but Democrats haven\u2019t been able to win statewide since then. Why do you think that is? Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager The Democrats always seem like they\u2019re focusing on the wrong issues. Like, their big focus is on things that are not important to me, whereas Republicans are focused on the issues that I think are more a priority to people. Say what you want about Texas, but economically, we are a good, strong state. We\u2019re one of the biggest economies in the world. I think the Republicans thrive on that because they are pro-business. They are anti-tax and anti-state-tax and all those things. So I think people who are open to business, they come to us, Texas, and they see that it\u2019s really a true capitalistic state. They can start a life. Democrats focus on more social issues, which maybe are not as priority to the people living in Texas. They come here for the capitalism and for the success, the money, for the financial reasons. Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant Redistricting plays a role. I think there\u2019s a lot of redistricting that happens to keep Republicans dominating a certain area. Texas is also big on individual rights, and we don\u2019t like a lot of government control. Typically, what comes along with Democratic policy or the party is a little bit more government involvement. So I think that\u2019s part of the resistance as well. Hitesh, 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work One issue is Democrats are taking their cues from what\u2019s happening in California, and they feel that that\u2019s what a Democratic state, a dominant state, is doing, with welfare entitlements. And look at where they\u2019re spending their money, and then they have to raise taxes.Moderator, Katherine Miller Are there issues where you feel more conservative or more liberal than the people around you? Are there issues that are divisive among the people you know? Dennis, 62, Republican, white, retired Immigration is a topic people get very emotional over. People have a lot of firsthand experience with it here. It\u2019s much more accepting where I came from \u2014 having lived up north until I moved here 15 years ago \u2014 than it is down here. It\u2019s one of those topics that I will hear other people talking about and I try to stay away from because I know that it has the potential to be explosive, especially in the last 10 years. It\u2019s just gotten to be one of those: You\u2019re either absolutely right or absolutely wrong. So it is one of those political topics that comes up that I wish didn\u2019t and try to, whenever I can, stay away from it, because I come from a different perspective. And I see it to be very divisive here. Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent Fertility issues are huge in Texas. Women cannot get fertility things done. They have to go to a different state, and that\u2019s been a huge contention. Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant And on that same thread, a woman\u2019s right to choose. Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service I agree, 100 percent.Moderator, Katherine Miller Are there national or state policy issues that you trust Republicans more than Democrats on? Robert D., 63, independent, white, retired I don\u2019t trust anything that\u2019s going on right now, Republican or Democrat. I mean, there\u2019s so much wrong with our country.Moderator, Katherine Miller And are there any issues right now where you would say you probably trust Democrats more? Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager Like I said, I don\u2019t think they can agree on the color of the sky. My only hope is it seems like every couple of generations, some young leader comes along and unifies people. I\u2019m afraid the next unifying thing is going to be something tragic or something devastating, like a depression. I don\u2019t have hope currently that either side can fix anything. Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent There\u2019s a lot of finger pointing. \u201cWell, you said this. Well, you didn\u2019t do this. Well, you said this. You didn\u2019t do this.\u201d I mean, there\u2019s no meeting in the middle. There\u2019s none. Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service Very divided. Robert D., 63, independent, white, retired You used to think that you could count on the Republicans to be able to help out with the economy, and that they would be the ones to fix it. But now it\u2019s more a feeling of it\u2019s going to fix it for a certain few, that it\u2019s going to be the top class or the certain friends that are getting the benefit of the economy, not the general folks. Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired I am someone who has voted for our current president twice because I didn\u2019t feel like I had another choice based on the beliefs I have. But I do believe our current president has caused a lot of the extremes and a lot of the rhetoric and a lot of the issues where people cannot compromise and people can\u2019t get along. I personally am just praying that we get better candidates in the future. Jeffrey, 34, independent, Latino, school counselor Commenting on if there\u2019s something we trust Democrats more than Republicans: I would say if there\u2019s one thing, it\u2019s health care. And I just think Democrats have a better kind of plan with that than Republicans.Has the situation regarding immigration gotten better, worse, or is about the same as before Trump became president again? Has the situation regarding immigration gotten better, worse, or is about the same as before Trump became president again? Better Becky,\n51, white, Dem. Sebastian,\n50, white, indep.Worse Dennis,\n62, white, Repub. Erica,\n40, Latino, Repub. Jeffrey,\n34, Latino, indep. Lisa,\n53, white, indep. Pam,\n66, white, Repub. Robert S.,\n52, Latino, Repub. Robert D.,\n63, white, indep. Vince,\n48, Asian, Dem.Same as before Hitesh,\n57, Asian, Repub. Jennifer,\n50, white, Repub. Becky, 51, Democrat, white, retail I don\u2019t think that there\u2019s as many immigrants coming across now as when Biden was in office. I hate saying this, but I think ICE is doing somewhat of a good job. I don\u2019t like the way that they\u2019re going about their job and doing it. But it\u2019s not a rotating door anymore. Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager As far as the border is concerned in Texas, the previous administration, it was just open. I don\u2019t agree with all the policies as far as ICE and those kinds of things, but as far as the border itself, I think it\u2019s secure. I\u2019m an immigrant to this country and have a family of immigrants, so this is something I feel strongly about. They really have to focus on cleaning up the legal way to do it. There\u2019s too much bureaucracy in trying to get citizenship legally. And so it\u2019s just becoming politicized. Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources So I appreciate that the border has been secured; I know people who live along the border, all the way down the Rio Grande. I don\u2019t like the methods used to do it. They\u2019re very thuggish in nature. They\u2019re deputized muscle instead of military or some properly trained law enforcement. I\u2019ve seen families torn apart. I\u2019ve seen hard-working people jailed because they\u2019re not documented. Meanwhile, the criminals are still running around. Now that\u2019s starting to ripple into businesses starting to shut down because those were their dishwashers and those were their cooks, and those were the reliable people that they really had nothing else. They did the jobs that nobody else wanted to do. And I don\u2019t necessarily condone that, but I mean, whose job did they steal, honestly? Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service No. They really should be going after the companies that are hiring these illegal immigrants. They\u2019re attacking these hard-working family men. I mean, they\u2019re painting immigrants to all be these pedophiles that rape and hurt children and women, when who wants those people here? I agree. We want those people out of here, whether they\u2019re immigrants or Americans. But these people who are so pro-ICE and so pro \u201cget these immigrants out of here,\u201d they\u2019re painting a picture that all these immigrants are monsters. And that\u2019s not the case. Like he said, I\u2019ve seen so many videos where these men are working hard.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson You all voted for President Trump in 2024. When he won, what were you hoping was going to come from that? Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources The things that were promised, which was affordable living, cheaper groceries and a better cost of living. Day one, eggs will be affordable. I think a lot of us believed him. I believed him. And unfortunately, what he said is no different than what a lot of other politicians say. They\u2019re saying the right things to get your vote. Becky, 51, Democrat, white, retail Trump said that he\u2019s going to do this. You know what? Every single president since I\u2019ve been voting has said \u201cI\u2019m going to do this,\u201d and none of them, literally none of them, held up their end of the bargain. For me personally, I believe that the crisis with Iran and all that craziness and the shutting down of the Strait of Hormuz, that\u2019s blown up our fuel prices and everything else along with it. You know what I\u2019m saying? You can\u2019t get cargo ships through. Every president that I can remember \u2014 \u201cOh, I\u2019m going to lower taxes.\u201d Well, I\u2019m still waiting, and you\u2019re not even president anymore. But I don\u2019t want to just say Trump is the only one who hasn\u2019t lived up to his promises. Every single president that I can remember has not lived up to their promises. Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service I wanted life to be affordable and for things to be \u201cgreat\u201d again.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson You put your hands up to do quotes around \u201cgreat.\u201d What would great have looked like to you? Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service Just affordable living at the cost of what they\u2019ve said before, the cost of our groceries going down, just higher-paying jobs, better opportunities, health insurance. Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager I was hoping he would learn from the first time. All politicians lie and tell you what you want to hear. But I voted for him because he was something different. He spoke the truth. He spoke what was on his mind. That\u2019s what appealed the first time. I was hoping the second time around, he learned something from his mistakes and learned something from, OK, now I know how to really fix this and it\u2019s not going to be the same old, same old. I felt like I was just picking the lesser of two evils. I went with the one that I was in line with more as far as economics. And was thinking that he would fix those, which doesn\u2019t seem to be the case. Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired I just thought he was the lesser of two evils. I don\u2019t like his rhetoric. And I don\u2019t like that he doesn\u2019t tell the truth a lot. But I thought he\u2019s a business person and he would have a better way to fix our economy, or at least get it moving in the right direction. Hitesh, 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work In the first term, he was very business friendly. He reduced the corporate tax, which allowed a lot of companies to invest in the U.S. and grow their businesses, give more jobs. And they pumped that money back into the economy. As a result, things, the stock market, everything, the economy grew. I thought he would use the same business acumen to be business friendly. But starting with the tariffs, I\u2019m like, man, this makes no sense what he\u2019s doing. And then the war, the Iran war, all the issues that are trickling down from that decision into the energy crisis that we are going to be facing, and that\u2019s \u2014 affordability? He promised there would be no more skirmishes that we\u2019d waste dollars on and lives on.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson What is it that you think Mr. Trump is really focused on achieving or is trying to do? What do you think his goals are these days? Vince, 48, Democrat, Asian, auditor I think he\u2019s trying to distract a little bit from, honestly, the Epstein stuff. It\u2019s like, oh, then we go into a war. As a byproduct now, we\u2019re focused on these forever wars that he said that we were not going to do anymore. The people that are suffering are the middle class here. Like Robert was saying, the economy sucks right now. It\u2019s hard to get a job. It\u2019s hard to afford housing. That\u2019s what we should be focused on. And I feel like that\u2019s the messaging that he\u2019s not doing, and neither are the Democrats. I have always been a Democrat my whole life until this last election, because I just couldn\u2019t associate myself with that party anymore, because they just lost their way so much. I mean, they used to be the blue-collar party. They used to be the law and order party in the \u201990s with Clinton. Maybe it\u2019s na\u00efve, but I thought, OK, maybe Trump could change things. Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant I honestly don\u2019t know what Trump is focused on. I mean, I pay attention. And I still don\u2019t know what his intentions are anymore. There seems to be a power trip that drives a lot of his decisions. Maybe that\u2019s not true, but that\u2019s what it feels like. It feels like a lot of his attention is foreign now, rather than domestic, and improving what the current state is today. So I mean, honestly, I don\u2019t know what he\u2019s trying to do. Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired I will concur with Lisa. We don\u2019t need to name new lakes. We don\u2019t need to change the name of the Kennedy Center. Those things to me are a waste, instead of spending time on what\u2019s going on here in the U.S. and the fact that people are struggling. People can\u2019t afford insurance, they can\u2019t afford homes, they can\u2019t afford their families.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson Think about how you\u2019ll vote in the midterm elections.Is your vote more about sending a message about what\u2019s going on in Washington or based on the individual candidates? Is your vote more about sending a message about what\u2019s going on in Washington or based on the individual candidates? More about sending a message Hitesh,\n57, Asian, Repub. Sebastian,\n50, white, indep.More about the candidates Becky,\n51, white, Dem. Dennis,\n62, white, Repub. Erica,\n40, Latino, Repub. Jennifer,\n50, white, Repub. Lisa,\n53, white, indep. Robert S.,\n52, Latino, Repub. Robert D.,\n63, white, indep. Vince,\n48, Asian, Dem. Hitesh, 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work For me, it\u2019s both. Ken Paxton and James Talarico \u2014 I mean, yeah, the two candidates, they couldn\u2019t be any different. It was really crazy that Trump stood behind Paxton. I\u2019m like, what in the world? And he just swung away from John Cornyn, and at the last minute. It was done. And now, since my time in Texas, I\u2019ve seen him do a pretty good job since he\u2019s been here. And going with a candidate that has such a shady background, I\u2019m like, what the heck?Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson OK, let\u2019s get into the specific candidates. When you hear the name Ken Paxton, what comes to mind? Robert D., 63, independent, white, retired Crook. Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager Criminal, crook, all those. Yeah. Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant Crooked. Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service Bad. Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired Amoral. Becky, 51, Democrat, white, retail Disgusting. Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources Two words: morally corrupt. Hitesh, 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work Disgusting. Vince, 48, Democrat, Asian, auditor Corrupt. Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent Womanizer. Crook. Dennis, 62, Republican, white, retired Crook is the word that comes to my mind. Jeffrey, 34, independent, Latino, school counselor Controversial. There\u2019s just so many things that he\u2019s been accused of and acquitted of. And I took a more neutral approach to your question. So controversial, but more in a negative way.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson Why crook or crooked? Robert D., 63, independent, white, retired Just a lot of things that he\u2019s done with his power as attorney general. There are criminals that he\u2019s let off the hook, so to speak. It\u2019s just a lot of different things like that.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson What\u2019s one word that comes to mind when you hear the name James Talarico? Jeffrey, 34, independent, Latino, school counselor Progressive. Dennis, 62, Republican, white, retired Neutral. Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent Same-sex bathrooms in high schools and grade school. Vince, 48, Democrat, Asian, auditor I\u2019d say inspiring. Hitesh, 57, Republican, Asian, looking for work Fresh. Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources I\u2019m going to use the same word: progressive. Becky, 51, Democrat, white, retail New. Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired I can\u2019t do one word. I don\u2019t agree with his morals. Even though he acts like that\u2019s a big deal. I don\u2019t believe it is. Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service Young. Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant Ineffective. Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager Fresh. Hopefully my message to Washington. Robert D., 63, independent, white, retired Yeah, I agree with the fresh \u2014 the fresh air part.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson What is fresh to you about Mr. Talarico? Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager Listen, at least in his campaign so far that I\u2019ve seen, it\u2019s like he\u2019s trying to stay away. At least he\u2019s trying to stay away from the negativity and pointing fingers. Whether you believe in them or not, he\u2019s actually trying to come up with solutions. And it\u2019s just getting away from the corruptness of Paxton and the Republican Party, which I\u2019ve been a long supporter of. There\u2019s nothing wrong with Cornyn. Why we would support Paxton over Cornyn is crazy to me. If it was Cornyn versus him, I would be with Cornyn. But because it\u2019s Talarico versus Paxton, I will be voting for Talarico.Would you vote for John Cornyn over James Talarico if he were the Republican candidate in this race? Would you vote for John Cornyn over James Talarico if he were the Republican candidate in this race? 7 people raised their hands. Becky, 51, white, Dem. Dennis, 62, white, Repub. Erica, 40, Latino, Repub. Hitesh, 57, Asian, Repub. Jeffrey, 34, Latino, indep. Jennifer, 50, white, Repub. Lisa, 53, white, indep. Pam, 66, white, Repub. Robert S., 52, Latino, Repub. Robert D., 63, white, indep. Sebastian, 50, white, indep. Vince, 48, Asian, Dem.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson Lisa, you used the word \u201cineffective\u201d to describe Mr. Talarico. Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant He hasn\u2019t proven himself in the Senate. I know Paxton hasn\u2019t either, but I think he\u2019s had more years in politics. I know sometimes that can be good and bad. I just don\u2019t trust that he can go up against these politicians who play dirty and win.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson Jennifer, you said \u201csame-sex bathrooms.\u201d Tell me more about why that comes to you. Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent That\u2019s what he wants to do in schools. I\u2019m totally against that.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson Pam, you said something about Mr. Talarico\u2019s morals. Tell me more. Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired I am a Christian. I think he\u2019s trying to bring people like me who can\u2019t stand the crook that\u2019s the Republican candidate over to his side by having all these commercials and things about his morals. He and I don\u2019t have the same beliefs, whether it\u2019s same-sex beliefs, whether it\u2019s religious beliefs. I don\u2019t like that he keeps talking about that more than he\u2019s talking about, to me, the issues. But that\u2019s my personal opinion. And that\u2019s why I am in horrible turmoil, because I will not vote for Paxton. Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent I\u2019m not voting for anybody. Nobody. I\u2019m not voting for that.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson Vince, you said Mr. Talarico was inspiring. What do you find inspiring about him? Vince, 48, Democrat, Asian, auditor Well, I think he strikes me as more of a moderate Democrat. He believes in border control. And he also believes in job creation. I\u2019m also a moderate, even though I voted for Trump. I want the best of both worlds. I saw him on \u201cKimmel,\u201d and he\u2019s a very well-spoken gentleman. I do believe he\u2019s a Christian. That does mean a lot. He went to seminary. Maybe it\u2019s an act, maybe it\u2019s not. For me, it works. He\u2019s inspiring, well spoken. I think he wants the best for middle-class Texans. To me, I think he\u2019s the better candidate versus Paxton. To me, it\u2019s a no-brainer between the two. He\u2019s into border control, which \u2014 it\u2019s weird for a Democrat to be so pro that, to me. It\u2019s usually they rail against that stuff. So it\u2019s like, I\u2019m glad he\u2019s more of a down-the-middle Democrat. I can relate to him more. He\u2019s speaking more to me and what I need.Moderator, Katherine Miller Let\u2019s talk a little about candidates and values in the big picture sense.Would you rather vote for a candidate with good character but policy positions you disagreed with, or a candidate with questionable character who champions policy you agree with? Would you rather vote for a candidate with good character but policy positions you disagreed with, or a candidate with questionable character who champions policy you agree with? I\u2019d rather vote for a candidate with good character but policy I disagree with. Dennis,\n62, white, Repub. Hitesh,\n57, Asian, Repub. Jeffrey,\n34, Latino, indep. Lisa,\n53, white, indep. Pam,\n66, white, Repub. Robert S.,\n52, Latino, Repub.I\u2019d rather vote for a candidate who champions policy I agree with, even if he has questionable character. Becky,\n51, white, Dem. Erica,\n40, Latino, Repub. Jennifer,\n50, white, Repub. Sebastian,\n50, white, indep. Vince,\n48, Asian, Dem. Erica, 40, Republican, Latino, customer service No one\u2019s perfect. And like, going back to Trump, his delivery wasn\u2019t always the greatest. But I like how he was proud to be an American. Now, of course, my mind has changed, but there are people who are not going to act the way you would like them to act. But deep down, you have the same beliefs. I\u2019d prefer that than someone maybe being fake \u2014 you\u2019re being more transparent. You\u2019re not acting, putting on this fake picture of what everybody wants to see. So that\u2019s why I say that. Becky, 51, Democrat, white, retail For me personally, I\u2019d rather have somebody in office who aligned with what I\u2019d like to see them do in office. Whatever they do behind their closed doors at home, that\u2019s their own business. But if they go to work and they fight for what I want them to fight for to help out the state and then even the country, that\u2019s who I\u2019m going to vote for. I chose Talarico over Paxton just because I think Talarico is young blood. We need something new, somebody new, young, somebody who\u2019s going to get in there and fight. Robert D., 63, independent, white, retired There were so many promises that Trump made when he was running for office. And there are so many things that he\u2019s done since he got into office that are against what I believe in. I thought he was going to change the economy and make it better for our 401(k)s, which he has. But we\u2019re getting to the midpoint of his presidency and I\u2019m questioning what are his objectives, and how are they going to affect us as common people.Moderator, Katherine Miller What are these midterm elections really about? Is there one issue or question that\u2019s bigger than everything else? Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources It\u2019s about people going out to vote and using that power to make a statement that the economy is going in a direction that\u2019s not acceptable, that this is an opportunity to change that. Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent Yeah, the economy is going to be a huge one. Lisa, 53, independent, white, technology consultant I think immigration continues to be a hot topic.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson What might somebody who\u2019s not in Texas not understand about voters picking a Democrat? Why might this election be different? Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager It might be a kind of referendum for people just to say, historically, Texas has always voted Republican. It\u2019s a red state. I think there\u2019s a lot of people who are more independent, more in the middle, maybe like I am. This is saying: Hey, you\u2019ve gotten your chances. So you know what? I\u2019m going to try something else, and see what the other side can do. So it\u2019s maybe a message to Washington. Maybe if Texas does flip and does turn blue, then maybe you\u2019ll wake up and start worrying about the state and worrying about the people of the state and worrying on doing things, communicating, compromising to get things done, versus just these extremists on both sides. Pam, 66, Republican, white, retired I just want to say I totally agree with Sebastian. I hope that the country, the Republican part of the country, wakes up after this election. And if Talarico is elected in Texas, I think it will wake up some parts of the country that are not worried about the economy and the things that Trump ran on before. People need to wake up.Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson There have been a couple of elections in the last few years where Democrats did think they could win Texas. You had Beto O\u2019Rourke running for Senate, then Colin Allred, as well. There are these other Democrats who said: I\u2019m going to be different. I can be a Texas Democrat. I can do this. And they didn\u2019t win. What makes this time different? Sebastian, 50, independent, white, utility manager One word: Paxton. They picked the wrong candidate. It\u2019s him. If they picked anybody else, they would have won. But because they picked him, they stand to lose the state. Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent Yeah. Cornyn had Talarico beat over Paxton. It\u2019d be, hands down, Cornyn would have won it. Robert S., 52, Republican, Latino, human resources Yep. Landslide. Jennifer, 50, Republican, white, stay-at-home parent You are three months out, but yeah, he\u2019ll win it. But now it\u2019s between Talarico and someone people think is a crook with bad morals. People won\u2019t vote for him. And I think Talarico probably will win it.America in Focus seeks to hear and understand the views of cross-sections of Americans whose voices are often not heard in opinion journalism.This discussion was moderated by a focus group veteran, Kristen Soltis Anderson, and Katherine Miller, an editor in Opinion. Ms. Anderson has done similar work over the years for Republican candidates and partisan groups. She chose the participants. (Times Opinion paid her for the work.) This transcript has been edited for length and clarity; an audio recording of the session is also included. Participants provided their biographical details. As is customary in focus groups, our role as moderators was not to argue with or fact-check the speakers, and some participants expressed opinions not rooted in facts.Illustrations by Lucinda Rogers. \nAmerica in Focus seeks to hear and understand the views of cross-sections of Americans whose voices are often not heard in opinion journalism.",
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