The Daily Wire says James Talarico‘s campaign has barred the company from its election-night watch party. The decision adds another press-access dispute to Election Day coverage.
What We Know: The Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Brent Scher shared a message on X from Kate Davis, the Texas Press Manager for Talarico’s campaign. In the message, Davis informed the digital media company that it wouldn’t be permitted to attend the campaign’s Election Night Watch Party. She cited limited press capacity and explicitly warned the company against sending reporters. The message also indicated that anyone who attempted to attend would be denied entry.
The incident isn’t the first press-access dispute involving a Senate campaign’s election-night headquarters. Earlier Tuesday, Newsmax was also denied entry to the Michigan Democratic Senate headquarters for its watch party. The network had been seeking access to cover the party’s election-night proceedings.
What They Said: “We are on the ground in Texas to cover James Talarico, but his campaign really doesn’t want us to be. Actual email to The Daily Wire reporter (Jacob Wheeler): ‘Please do not come.'” -Brent Scher
What Remains Unclear: It’s unclear how many media organizations the Talarico campaign has permitted inside its election-night headquarters. Additionally, the campaign hasn’t publicly explained whether its capacity restrictions apply equally to all news organizations or whether other considerations influenced the decision.
What It Means: The Daily Wire’s exclusion adds to questions about press access at political campaigns’ election-night headquarters. With Newsmax experiencing a similar situation in Michigan, two Senate campaigns have faced scrutiny over media organizations seeking access. Meanwhile, both incidents highlight the challenges facing news outlets attempting to cover election-night developments from campaign headquarters. For digital media companies, access to candidates and their campaigns remains an important part of providing coverage to their audiences.
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