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“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin predicted Thursday that voters will flip Texas blue in November for the first time in about 30 years as the panel discussed the tight race between Democratic candidate James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton for the U.S. Senate.
“I think we will. I think we will see Texas go blue, actually. I really do,” Hostin remarked. “In September, not only one, but eight pollsters had Talarico ahead 51 to 45 percent. That is so significant given that a Democrat hasn’t won statewide office in 30 years. That same poll showed that he is leading Paxton among women 56 percent to 40 percent. Among voters aged 18 to 29, 66 percent to 22 percent, and among Hispanics, 62 percent to 30 percent. We’re talking about Texas. He’s going to win this race.”
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin argued that Talarico’s edge in the Lone Star State was a referendum on President Donald Trump’s administration.
“I mean the fact that Texas is in play speaks to the moment right now that people are so frustrated with the current leadership,” she said. “A Democrat hasn’t won statewide in Texas in over 30 years. I still think it could go either direction for Paxton or Talarico, but this is kind of a perfect storm, and it’s a mess of the president’s own making.”
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“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin speaks during the ABC talk show on Oct. 8, 2026. (ABC/TheView)
Griffin agreed the state might flip blue, calling Talarico a good candidate. She argued that Sen. John Cornyn would’ve been a better Republican candidate over Paxton, who was endorsed by Trump and came out on top in the GOP primary.
A Fox News poll released in October found Talarico enjoying a net positive personal rating of 8 points among likely Texas voters (52% favorable vs. 44% unfavorable), compared to Paxton, who is underwater by 18 points (40% vs. 58%). Republicans are six times more likely to view Paxton unfavorably (32%) than Democrats do Talarico (5%).
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Likely Texas voters are split on control of the Senate: 49% prefer a Democratic Senate while 50% favor a Republican upper chamber. Eight percent of self-identified Republicans prefer the Democrats in power versus 1% of Democrats crossing over to pick the GOP.
All this gives Talarico a slim 2-point edge over Paxton (51-49%) in the poll among likely voters. These matchup results are within the margin of sampling error.
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Co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Ana Navarro cast some doubt on the positive polling for the Democratic candidate, as Navarro said, “2016 left me scared.”
Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin on the set of “The View” on July 22, 2026. (ABC/TheView)
“I have hope. People should have hope, but hope alone won’t win an election. People got to turn hope into vote. And I don’t think they, you know, relying on polls and just kind of sitting back and getting complacent is something that nobody can afford to do if they want to see change,” Navarro said.
Paxton’s campaign did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Trump campaigned with Paxton in San Antonio, Texas, on Wednesday.
The pair both pointed to Talarico’s absence from campaigning at the event. The Senate candidate’s campaign responded to the criticism, explaining Talarico has been sick with the flu and is expected to return to the campaign trail this weekend.
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President Donald Trump, left, listens as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during a campaign rally at Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio on Oct. 7, 2026. (Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)
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“Anyone taking seriously what Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin say about politics likely has a low enough IQ to qualify as a guest host on ‘The View,’” RNC spokesman Zach Kraft told Fox News Digital in a statement about the co-hosts’ remarks.
Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.