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Nov 3, 2026

Texas - United States Senate

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James Talarico
James Talarico
Democrat · Age 37

Texas state representative since 2018 and former middle-school teacher. Degrees from UT Austin and Harvard.

Campaign website →
Ken Paxton
Ken Paxton
Republican · Age 63

Attorney General of Texas since 2015, after serving in the Texas House and Senate. Beat Sen. Cornyn in the primary.

Campaign website →
Who's ahead? CookTOSS-UPSabatoTOSS-UPDDHQTOSS-UP
Ratings: Cook Political Report (Oct 6), Sabato’s Crystal Ball (Aug 26), Decision Desk HQ (Aug 5). Source →
Talarico
47
Paxton
46
Texas Southern University, Sept 15–19, 1,800 likely voters, ±2.3 → Sept 15–19

Where they stand

Tap a topic — including today's big ones.

TALARICO SAYS
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PAXTON SAYS
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Money & campaign finance

Where each candidate stands on campaign-finance questions.

TALARICO
PAXTON
Not stated Ban Congress from trading stocks Not stated
No Takes corporate PAC money Not stated

Sources: Talarico: no corporate PACs (Texas Tribune)

Fundraising
RAISEDCASH ON HANDUNDER-$200 DONORS
James Talarico
$68.6M$21.5M54% of receipts
Ken Paxton
$9.2M$1.8M19% of receipts

Campaign committee totals for the 2025–26 cycle, through June 30, 2026. Under-$200 share is unitemized individual contributions divided by total receipts. FEC filings →

Their big promises

TALARICO'S TOP 3
Corruption & democracy
Stronger ethics rules, transparency for officeholders, and protecting Texans' access to the ballot.
Taxes & cost of living
Property-tax relief for homeowners and capping rising grocery, housing, and healthcare costs.
Public education
A former public-school teacher; supports raising teacher pay and increasing per-student funding.
PAXTON'S TOP 3
Supporting Trump's agenda
Aligned with the administration on border security, energy production, and federal spending cuts.
Taking on Big Food and Big Pharma
Lower prescription-drug costs and curb harmful additives in the food supply.
Border security
Continued state and federal funding for border-enforcement operations.

Agree or differ?

Lower prescription drug prices
Both support it — a rare shared priority
AGREE
Property tax relief for homeowners
Both back it
AGREE
New federal emissions mandates
Talarico: supports · Paxton: opposes, prioritizes oil and gas production
DIFFER
School vouchers
Talarico: the ex-teacher is a leading voucher opponent · Paxton: champions school choice
DIFFER
Was the 2020 election legitimate?
Talarico: yes · Paxton: sued to overturn the results in four states
DIFFER

Their stories

JAMES TALARICO
1989Born in Austin; raised by a single mom in Round Rock.
2010sTaught middle school on San Antonio's West Side; later studied at Harvard and in seminary.
2018Elected to the Texas House at 29; helped pass the 2019 school-finance overhaul.
2025Became a national figure through viral videos on faith and politics.
2026Won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.
KEN PAXTON
2002Elected to the Texas House from McKinney; later to the Texas Senate.
2015Became Attorney General of Texas.
2020Led the lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to overturn election results in four states.
2023Impeached by the GOP-led Texas House over corruption allegations; acquitted by the Senate.
2026Defeated Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary.

The backstory

Four-term Republican Sen. John Cornyn lost his own party’s nomination. Attorney General Ken Paxton forced him into a runoff and then beat him on May 26 with 63.8% of the vote, helped by a late endorsement from President Trump. Cornyn is the first Texas senator to lose renomination since 1970.

In the Democratic primary on March 3, state Rep. James Talarico, a former teacher and seminarian, beat Rep. Jasmine Crockett with 52.4% of the vote. Crockett conceded and urged Democrats to unite behind him.

Democrats haven’t won a Senate race in Texas since 1988, and Trump carried the state by nearly 14 points in 2024. During the primary, Cornyn argued that Paxton’s history of scandals could put a safe seat at risk. After Paxton won, Cook Political Report moved the race from Likely to Lean Republican.

Sources

  1. James Talarico for Texas · campaign website
  2. Ken Paxton · campaign website
  3. 2026 United States Senate election in Texas · Wikipedia (primary results, ratings)
  4. 4 takeaways from the Texas runoff primary elections · NPR, May 27, 2026
  5. Talarico wins Texas Democratic Senate nomination · NBC News, March 2026
  6. Paxton, Cornyn headed to Republican runoff · Reuters, March 3, 2026
  7. Federal Election Commission · candidate fundraising summaries
Positions summarized from campaign websites, voting records, and news reports (July 2026) · race data updated September 2026
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