Grace Panetta
Politics Reporter
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As Republicans gathered in Dallas, Texas for their pre-midterm convention last week, Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico focused on survivors of Jeffrey Epstein.
Talarico got a tour of the Reading Room, a traveling exhibit of the nearly 3 million files that the Department of Justice released from its investigation into the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender —the result of a hard-fought battleby survivors of Epstein’s abuse who are still seeking justice and transparency from a government they say repeatedly failed them.
Speaking alongside Epstein survivors Annie Farmer and Sharlene Rochard, Talarico praised them for their courage in coming forward and attacked his Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, for not meeting with the survivors and what he said was “a history of covering up abuse.” Talarico called on Paxton to use his authority to sue the Justice Department over its handling of the release of the files connected to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for federal sex trafficking charges.
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“When did pedophilia become a partisan issue? When did holding sexual abusers accountable become controversial? When did Ken Paxton decide it was OK to ignore these survivors?” Talarico said.
“I am tired of seeing powerful people cover up abuse. I think we’re all tired of it — Democrats, Republicans and independents alike,” he added.
Republicans currently enjoy an advantageas the party voters trust more on crime— 45 percent of voters said they trusted the GOP the most on the issue in a 2025 Pew Research Center survey, up from 40 percent in 2023. It’s typically been GOP candidates who have run attack ads hitting their opponents as being “soft” on crime. But the dynamics around crime messaging have shifted with the national spotlight on the Epstein files and the bipartisan push for more accountability for Epstein’s crimes — an issue that Democratic strategists and pollsterssay has rare, high levels of crossover support.
And Democrats in races from Arizona to North Carolina are attacking their Republican opponents for their votes not just on the Epstein files, but on their ties to other sex offenders and their records on cases of sexual abuse.
In Texas’ Senate race, Talaricohas also slammed Paxtonfor his office offering what he called an “Epstein-style” plea deal to a defendant, Waco attorney Adam Hoffman, who was charged with sexually abusing a minor. After Hoffman’s trial ended in a hung jury,the prosecution offered a dealthat would have allowed him to serve just one day in jail, which sparked public outrage and was rejected by the judge in the case. Hoffman eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to 60 days in jail but was not required to register as a sex offender.
In a letter to a Republican state lawmakerearlier this year, the career prosecutors who tried the case said the outcome was in the best interest of the child victim, who did not wish to voluntarily testify in a second trial.
The day after the GOP convention last week, Talarico’s campaigndebuted a new television adattacking Paxton over the plea deal.
