Crossfiled1 outlets · filed 29 October 2026
The masculinity attacks at the heart of the Texas Senate race
In the race to become Texas’ next senator, Republican candidate Ken Paxton and his surrogates have leaned into a specific line of attack on Democrat James Talarcio. From calling him “low-T” to “Tofu Talarico” — they want this campaign to be a referendum on manliness.
Vox
What the coverage shows
The coverage does not converge on the same race at all: 60 Minutes is alone in foregrounding CBS News data showing the South Carolina Senate race as leaning Republican. Vox’s three items instead focus on Texas, with one framing the contest as close, one emphasizing campaign coverage, and one highlighting masculinity-themed attacks by Ken Paxton’s side.
Written by Crossfiled from the 3 headlines and extracts below, not from the articles themselves. It describes how the outlets framed this, not what happened. Open any headline for a summary of that article.
How it broke
In this story
Get the 5 stories every outlet is covering, every morning. Free.
One email a day. Unsubscribe in one click. We host no journalism and never sell your address.
More on US Politics
- DOJ requests separating Alaska ballots that rank Dan J. Sullivan in Senate race 13 outlets
- Trump reverses decision to cancel Kansas and Iowa rallies before midterms 8 outlets
- Pope Leo becomes first pontiff to vote in a U.S. election 7 outlets
- Trump says Iran war will end 'soon' 4 outlets
- Judge blocks DOJ from threatening election workers before midterms 4 outlets
- From Day of the Dead to Trump Rally, Texas voters split on Senate race 4 outlets