Talarico’s Viral Paxton Pen-Theft Ad Rocks Senate Race

Talarico pen ad

Source: Brian Tyler Cohen

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The TL;DW

  • Brian Tyler Cohen highlights a new attack ad from Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico targeting Republican Ken Paxton in Texas’s closely watched U.S. Senate race.
  • The Talarico pen ad revives a 2012 incident where attorney Joe Joplin says Paxton pocketed his $1,000 Montblanc pen at the Collin County Courthouse — the same courthouse where Paxton was later indicted for investment fraud.
  • The ad closes with Joplin himself endorsing Talarico on camera, and the spot has quickly gone viral online as polling shows the Paxton-Talarico race tightening.

The Jupiter Take

This is Brian Tyler Cohen’s commentary reacting to a real campaign ad, not his own reporting — he’s amplifying and praising Talarico’s messaging as a savvy political jab. The underlying pen-theft claim and ad are documented and confirmed by multiple outlets, though the “devastating” framing reflects Cohen’s opinion rather than a neutral assessment.

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