What To Know
- Sean Hannity dismissed his own network’s poll showing Democratic Rep. James Talarico leading Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race.
- The Fox News poll indicates Talarico is ahead by 3 points.
- Hannity was asked to take a bet on the election result by former New York City mayor Bill de Blasio.
Sean Hannity was put on the spot on Tuesday night (August 4) when former New York City mayor Bill de Blasio turned Fox News’ own polling numbers against the host.
The longtime news anchor was debating de Blasio on Tuesday’s edition of Hannity about the Texas Senate race between Democratic Rep. James Talarico and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. Hannity insulted Talarico and claimed he had no chance of winning the election.
He also blasted the Texan Democrat as “six-gender Talarico,” adding that he “believes God is non-binary… believes biological men should play women’s sports, and believes that biological men should have access to abortion.”
De Blasio interrupted to ask the host, “Did you read your own poll today where Talarico is beating Paxton?”
Hannity lashed out, responding, “Okay, I don’t believe it for two seconds. Not for two.”
The Fox News poll, which is jointly conducted by the Democratic-leaning Beacon Research and the Republican-leaning Shaw & Company Research, shows the 37-year-old Democrat leading Paxton by 3 points, 51 percent to 48 percent in the race for U.S. Senate.
According to The Daily Beast, the poll shows Talarico winning 68 percent of independents, 98 percent of Democrats, and about a quarter of non-MAGA Republicans. He’s also the preferred choice among white evangelical Christians, white men without a college degree, rural voters, regular worship attenders, men, and voters ages 65 and older.
In addition, Talarico is now polling well with Black voters, moderates, voters under age 30, Hispanic voters, women, and voters with a college degree.
The 63-year-old Paxton, meanwhile, has faced several controversies, including security fraud charges, impeachment in the Texas House of Representatives, and a contentious divorce in which he was accused of adultery.
Despite the polling numbers from his own network, Hannity continued to insult Talarico and play down his chances of winning the election.
“When you lose James Carville, and Bill Maher, and you lose [CEO of Stagwell Inc] Mark Penn, who was just on, and John Fetterman, and Joe Manchin, I’m telling you, it’s a canary in the coal mine,” Hannity stated.
De Blasio disagreed, saying that Talarico’s main focus is on “common-sense, kitchen-table issues,” which appeals to voters and is “the worst nightmare for Republicans.”
“Young voters are gonna change these elections,” de Blasio added, saying that he’ll make a bet on the election results with Hannity. “You’re gonna be surprised, and they’re gonna be with the Democrats.”
Hannity, Weekdays, 9/8c Fox News