Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico released a new ad on Friday featuring the endorsement of an attorney who claimed Republican candidate Attorney General Ken Paxton stole his $1,000 pen.
The new video is the latest attack on Paxton from Talarico as the Senate race in Texas heats up with the general election on the horizon. With a tagline of “Talarico: He won’t steal your pen,” the ad brings to light an incident that allegedly occurred at the Collin County Courthouse in 2012.
Talarico’s team obtained security camera footage from the courthouse that allegedly shows Paxton rummaging through the items left near the metal detectors. Paxton allegedly found a Montblanc pen, which cost in the ballpark of $1,000, and pocketed it.
The pricey pen belonged to Joe Joplin, a local attorney who received the pen as a gift from his wife. Joplin contacted the courthouse about his forgotten pen, prompting staff to pull security footage showing Paxton allegedly at the scene of the crime. Talarico’s campaign claims Paxton returned the pen “after police got involved.”
“He could have pressed charges, but he decided against it because Joe’s a nice guy,” the narrator in the ad said. “He’d never take someone else’s pen. But he also hasn’t forgotten who took his,” the narrator continued before cutting to a clip of Joplin endorsing Talarico.
“Vote for James Talarico. He won’t steal you pen,” the ad said in closing.
The video also briefly mentions the incident had unfolded at the same courthouse where Paxton was indicted on two counts of first-degree securities fraud and one count of failing to register as an investment adviser, charges that were later dropped after Paxton agreed to complete 100 hours of community service, take legal ethics classes, and pay restitution.
Talarico and Paxton’s general election matchup has become one of the most closely watched races in the country as Democrats see the opportunity to flip Texas blue.
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Former President Barack Obama has handed Talarico an endorsement, while Paxton has the backing of President Donald Trump. August polling from Emerson College paints a tight race, with Paxton leading Talarico by 1 percentage point in a 47-46 split. Earlier polling showed Talarico with the advantage, and the race is rated “leans Republican” by the Cook Political Report.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Paxton campaign for comment.