Social media posts falsely claimed Democratic Texas Senate nominee James Talarico was being treated at a mental health facility in Ohio while he was absent from campaigning with the flu. Ken Paxton and allies amplified the false claims, which spread millions of times online before being debunked.
James Talarico, Democratic Texas Senate nominee, Presbyterian pastor, Austin state representative; Ken Paxton, Republican Texas Attorney General, Senate candidate; Michelle Smith, Senior adviser to Ken Paxton and 2 more
The Texas Senate race between Ken Paxton and James Talarico has reached over $500 million in ad spending as the election approaches. GOP leaders including Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson are campaigning for Paxton, while Talarico has returned to campaigning after illness.
$over $500 million for ad spending
Ken Paxton, Republican candidate for Texas Senate; James Talarico, Democrat candidate for Texas Senate; JD Vance, Vice President, campaigning for Paxton and 1 more
Fox News commentator Dana Perino discussed the Texas Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico on October 13, 2026. She also previewed White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia's first briefing.
Dana Perino, Fox News commentator; Ken Paxton, Republican candidate for Texas Senate; James Talarico, Democratic candidate for Texas Senate and 1 more
Early voting for Texas' 2026 midterm election starts October 19 and runs through October 30. Election Day is November 3. The voter registration deadline was October 5. More than 18 million Texans are registered to vote, over 1 million more than in 2022.
Chris Lynch, Rockwall County elections administrator; Texas Secretary of State, election official
Kacey Musgraves and Kristi Noem exchanged posts on social media over the Texas Senate race after Democratic candidate James Talarico attended one of Musgraves' concerts. Musgraves referenced a 2024 admission by Noem that she killed her dog.
Kacey Musgraves, Country music star; Kristi Noem, Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary and current U.S. special envoy; James Talarico, Democratic Texas state representative and U.S. Senate candidate and 1 more
Vice President JD Vance held a midterm campaign rally in Tyler on October 13, 2026. He announced a Trump Administration agreement with Delek Refinery for an expansion under the Defense Production Act and endorsed Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate.
JD Vance, Vice President; Delek Refinery, Tyler refinery entering expansion agreement; Ken Paxton, Republican Attorney General, endorsed for U.S. Senate and 3 more
A Texas judge ruled that Tarrant County does not have to restore nearly 100 polling places that county officials cut before the November 3 midterm election. The ruling came after voting rights advocates and minority group representatives sued, arguing the cuts disenfranchise voters.
District Judge Patrick Gallagher, Judge who ruled on the polling site cuts; Deborah Peoples, City councilwoman and plaintiff; Black; Kathleen Hicks, Former city councilwoman and plaintiff; Black and 9 more
Texas Attorney General and Senate candidate Ken Paxton attended a New Year's Eve party in Dubai on December 31, 2024, with two men who had been indicted on federal charges and had not yet returned to the United States to face prosecution. Campaign finance records show one of the men donated to Paxton's campaign.
$$190,000 for campaign contribution
Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general and Senate candidate; Anosh Ahmed, Man indicted on federal charges; Sameer Suhail, Man indicted on federal charges and 3 more
Republican leaders spoke at a Texas Youth Summit for conservative youth, urging attendees to vote for Attorney General Ken Paxton in the upcoming Senate race against Democrat James Talarico. Paxton and other GOP leaders framed the election as a significant contest for Texas's future.
Ken Paxton, Attorney General, Republican Senate candidate; James Talarico, Democratic state Senator, Senate candidate; Walker Doner, Conference attendee and 3 more
A University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs poll found Democrat Letitia Plummer leading Republican Orlando Sanchez by 7 percentage points in the Harris County judge race. The survey of likely voters shows a majority of both parties oppose a recent property tax increase.
$Harris County voters opposed a property tax increase approved this year, with 72% disapproving according to the poll.
Letitia Plummer, Democratic candidate for Harris County judge; Orlando Sanchez, Republican candidate for Harris County judge; University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs, Conducted poll and 1 more
A University of Houston poll of 2,750 Harris County likely voters shows state Rep. James Talarico leading Attorney General Ken Paxton 58% to 36% in the U.S. Senate race, with Gov. Abbott trailing state Rep. Gina Hinojosa by 16 points in the gubernatorial race.
$72 percent of respondents disapprove of Harris County commissioners' vote to approve the highest property tax rate in decades.
James Talarico, State representative, candidate in U.S. Senate race; Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, candidate in U.S. Senate race; Greg Abbott, Governor, candidate for re-election and 9 more
Dallas County Elections Administrator Paul Adams reported to county commissioners that the number of suspended voter registrations fell from 200,789 on Aug. 31 to 179,946 as of Oct. 7. Adams credited community and political campaigns for the reduction.
$More than 20,000 for mail-in ballots sent
Paul Adams, Dallas County Elections Administrator; Dallas County Commissioners, Received update on voter suspense list and mail-in ballots
The James Talarico campaign released a television ad criticizing Republican Ken Paxton's handling of a sex abuse prosecution against Waco attorney Adam Hoffman. The ad states Hoffman should have faced lengthy prison time but received minimal jail time under a plea agreement negotiated by Paxton's office.
James Talarico, Democratic candidate in Texas Senate race; funded attack ad; Ken Paxton, Republican attorney general; candidate in Texas Senate race; subject of ad; Adam Hoffman, Waco attorney accused of sexually abusing boy under age 10
Multiple polls released in October 2026 show the Texas gubernatorial race between Gov. Greg Abbott (Republican) and state Rep. Gina Hinojosa (Democrat) is statistically close weeks before the election. Polls vary on who leads, with most showing the race tied or within margins of error.
Greg Abbott, Republican Texas Governor, candidate; Gina Hinojosa, Democratic state representative, candidate; Real Clear Politics, polling average source and 4 more
Republican U.S. Senate nominee Ken Paxton told Fox News he has been trying to schedule a debate with Democrat James Talarico but cannot work out details. Talarico's campaign disputed this, saying Paxton has declined or ignored multiple debate invitations. Trump had publicly called for the two to debate.
Ken Paxton, Republican U.S. Senate nominee; James Talarico, Democratic state representative and U.S. Senate candidate; Donald Trump, President and 3 more
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican Senate candidate, appeared on Fox News to respond to leaked audio recordings from a late September D.C. fundraiser. The leaked recordings showed him making critical comments about Donald Trump and other topics, which his campaign says were taken out of context.
Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, Republican Senate candidate; James Talarico, Democratic opponent in Senate race; Donald Trump, Referenced for campaign support and 2 more
Trump endorsed Ken Paxton in the Republican primary for Texas Senate over incumbent John Cornyn, despite warnings from national GOP leaders that Paxton was weaker in the general election. Trump visited Texas three times recently, including headlining the GOP's first midterm convention in Dallas last month, and made stops in Denton and San Antonio promoting his economic record and urging voters to elect Paxton. Some Republican candidates skipped Trump's rallies or the convention, and Gov. Greg Abbott was absent from Trump's stops in Denton and San Antonio while focusing on his own race.
Donald Trump, President; endorsed Paxton in Republican primary; Ken Paxton, Attorney General; Republican Senate candidate; John Cornyn, Incumbent senator; Republican primary opponent to Paxton and 3 more
Texas Republicans are at odds over GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton, with leaked audio of Paxton saying ousted Senator John Cornyn is not supporting him. Democratic nominee James Talarico addressed his recent absence from the campaign trail.
Ken Paxton, GOP Senate nominee; James Talarico, Democratic Senate nominee; John Cornyn, Ousted longtime Senator
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's campaign meet-and-greet in Hallsville was moved from Gold Hall to First Baptist Church of Hallsville's Family Life Center due to serious plumbing issues at the original venue.
Dan Patrick, Republican Lt. Gov., scheduled campaign event speaker; Mary Napps, Harrison County Republican chair; Vikki Goodwin, Democratic state Rep., Patrick's opponent in November general election
Gov. Greg Abbott has spent weeks using press releases, fundraising emails, and digital ads to point to a 2019 House vote by Democratic rival Gina Hinojosa on House Joint Resolution 38 as evidence she supports a state income tax. Hinojosa says she opposes income taxes and has released a digital ad stating this directly.
Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas; Gina Hinojosa, Democratic rival to Abbott, Texas House member who voted on HJR 38 in 2019; Jeff Leach, Collin County Republican state representative who proposed HJR 38 in 2019