WASHINGTON — The dogfight Texas Senate race is turning into a puppy clash.
State Rep. James Talarico campaigned with dogs and puppies late last week in a bid to throw shade at his rival, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s track record on canines, as Democrats look for attack lines that stick to a candidate who survived a cheating scandal, impeachment, and more.
The Senate hopeful lashed out at Paxton over a report that his office issued a 2015 opinion that enabled Texas A&M University to conceal documents on its treatment of dogs and cats in its lab despite hundreds of public records requests.
Paxton’s office had concluded that veterinarians should not violate their “confidential relationship” with their client. Talarico also zinged Paxton for being one of 15 state reps to vote against 2011 legislation requiring animal abusers to foot the bill for care for pets they abused.
“Ken Paxton will never fight for the little guy — even when the little guy is literally a puppy,” Talarico chided in a statement.
“In the State House, I authored and passed a bipartisan bill to strengthen kennel safety and keep our pets safe. In the Senate, I’ll protect puppies from corrupt politicians like Ken Paxton.”
Ultimately, the legislation in question, HB963, passed and was signed into law by then-Gov. Rick Perry (R).
Back in 2015, Texas A&M University was under scrutiny over its treatment of animals in its labs. Local reports indicated that at least 100 dogs endured pain during testing, and that it got 474 dogs from a shelter that it euthanized that day.
A recently resurfaced video from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) showed miserable-looking dogs being kept in brutal conditions. PETA alleged that the dogs had been bred to have muscular dystrophy — muscle weakness.
Some 23 states slapped over 100 public records requests against Texas A&M University at the time.
The Texas Democrat teamed up with the Austin Humane Society to host his “Puppies for Talarico” event on Friday.
“Ken Paxton is anti-puppy, and I wish I was joking when I said that,” Talarico chided to MS NOW last week. “This is a clear contrast in this race.”
Last month, before Talarico bashed Paxton over puppies, the Texas AG launched a probe into Lone Star Pups, accusing the company of misleading people about the veterinary care its animals receive.
The Post contacted Paxton’s campaign for comment.
The Texas Senate race has become remarkably competitive, with Talarico notching a 1.2 percentage-point edge over Paxton in the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.
Paxton had emerged from a bruising primary against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and has several scandals on his portfolio that have created liabilities.
In 2015, the Texas AG was indicted on securities fraud charges that later got thrown out due to a pretrial diversion agreement. Eight years later, he was impeached over allegations that he obstructed justice in that securities fraud case, gave preferential treatment to a donor, and more.
He narrowly survived a trial in the state Senate in a 16–14 vote. Paxton’s ex-wife, Angela Allen, also divorced him after revelations emerged that he cheated on her.
To combat Talarico, Paxton and his allies have homed in on the Democrats’ past woke tendencies, in which he suggested “God is nonbinary” and that there are six sexes, among other remarks.
