Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton promised Thursday to debate Democrat James Talarico in their closely watched U.S. Senate race, but Paxton has not accepted a specific invitation or agreed to Talarico's earlier call for three televised encounters.

Talarico issued the challenge during an appearance on MS NOW's "Morning Joe," saying he had accepted debate invitations from three Texas media groups and would appear at each event.

"I'll be on that debate stage because I answer to the people of Texas," Talarico said. "Ken Paxton answers to his billionaire mega-donors. We'll see if they let him show up."

Paxton's campaign confirmed it had received the same invitations, adding that the attorney general intends to debate Talarico. However, the attorney general's campaign did not specify how many debates he would attend, The Texas Tribune reported.

"Of course we are going to debate James Talarico, and we look forward to engaging with potential debate hosts," Paxton senior adviser Nick Maddux said in a statement.

No dates, locations, moderators or formats have been announced. Paxton's campaign also has not said if he will participate in a televised event.

Talarico, a state representative and the Democrat nominee, has accepted invitations from Nexstar Media Group and KXAN News; NBC News, NBCUniversal and Hearst Texas; and WFAA and Tegna.

"I think it's great," Talarico told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram after Paxton's campaign responded. "We challenged Ken Paxton this morning to three televised debates, and I hope he accepts all three so that he can answer questions directly from Texans."

The challenge intensified an already personal campaign before the Nov. 3 election.

During his "Morning Joe" appearance, Talarico said he wants Paxton to answer questions about how he accumulated his wealth while earning a government salary, whether major donors influenced his acquittal in his 2023 impeachment trial, and a plea agreement offered in a child sexual abuse case involving Adam Hoffman.

Paxton was acquitted by the Texas Senate in September 2023 on 16 articles of impeachment alleging corruption and abuse of office.

Paxton's campaign, meanwhile, said it intends to scrutinize Talarico's record involving transgender athletes and a state income tax, along with comments he has made about Christianity and the oil and gas industry.

"Talarico is a serial liar who has spent his entire campaign shamelessly deceiving Texas voters about his radical record without answering the hard questions," Maddux said.

"James Talarico isn't just out of touch," he added. "He's a dangerous radical whose record and agenda are so toxic and extreme that he has to hide it behind carefully scripted lies. We look forward to voters getting to learn about the real James Talarico."

Paxton has avoided formal candidate debates during several recent campaigns. He defeated Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Wesley Hunt for the Republican Senate nomination earlier this year without debating them.

Paxton also declined to participate in a Republican primary debate during his 2022 reelection campaign for attorney general and did not debate his Democratic opponents in the 2018 or 2014 general elections.

The candidates previously exchanged a less formal challenge involving Texas barbecue. Paxton invited Talarico to meet for barbecue in June after conservative commentators questioned whether Talarico was a vegan.

Talarico responded that he would meet Paxton "at any time and any place" if the attorney general answered questions about the Hoffman case. No such meeting was announced.

The Senate contest has attracted national attention and record fundraising in Texas, where Democrats have not won a statewide election in more than three decades. Recent surveys have generally shown Paxton and Talarico in a statistical tie.