Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, told donors and lobbyists at a closed-door fundraising event that the Iran war and high gasoline and diesel prices are the main factors hurting his campaign. An audio recording of his remarks was published by Axios on October 7, 2026.
$$5.72 for average diesel price per gallon in Texas
Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate; James Talarico, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate
Fox News Power Rankings identified Texas's 35th Congressional District as one of 10 Democrat-held House seats Republicans could flip in the midterm elections. The district features a race between Republican Carlos De La Cruz and Democrat Johnny Garcia.
Carlos De La Cruz, Republican candidate, Texas 35th Congressional District; Johnny Garcia, Democrat candidate, Texas 35th Congressional District; Jennifer Kelly, Host and Republican strategist, commenting on the race
Former President Barack Obama appeared in a campaign ad and campaigned in Texas with Senate candidate James Talarico and gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa earlier in 2026. Obama is increasing his involvement in midterm elections with additional campaign stops and advertisements planned for the closing weeks.
Barack Obama, Former President, campaigning for Democratic candidates; James Talarico, Texas Senate candidate; Gina Hinojosa, Texas gubernatorial candidate
Gina Hinojosa, a Texas state representative and gubernatorial candidate, sent cease-and-desist letters to television stations demanding they pull a Texans for Greg Abbott advertisement about her property tax votes. The Abbott campaign responded with a legal letter listing the votes.
$Hinojosa proposes ending residential property taxes through cutting corporate subsidies and government contracts; Abbott proposes a constitutional amendment eliminating school taxes for homeowners using state surplus funding.
Gina Hinojosa, State representative from Austin and gubernatorial candidate; Greg Abbott, Governor and gubernatorial candidate; Texans for Greg Abbott, Campaign organization and 2 more
Sen. Ted Cruz is playing a behind-the-scenes role in Ken Paxton's Texas Senate campaign, acting as an informal adviser, bundler, and campaigner. Cruz helped secure a Texas Hispanic Business Council town hall for Paxton and has raised funds for his campaign, including $3 million in one day during a May fly-around.
$$3 million for campaign donations raised by Cruz during one-day fly-around in May
Ted Cruz, U.S. Senator; informal adviser, bundler, and campaigner for Paxton's campaign; Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General; Republican Senate candidate; James Talarico, Democratic Senate candidate and 5 more
Dallas Cowboys legend Randy White and former NFL defensive lineman Bryce Huff endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race. White cited their shared work on child safety and opioid awareness; Huff emphasized support for small business and limited government.
Randy White, Dallas Cowboys legend, Pro Football Hall of Famer, endorser of Paxton; Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, U.S. Senate candidate; Bryce Huff, Super Bowl champion, former NFL defensive lineman, endorser of Paxton and 1 more
A conservative PAC sent political text messages to Texas voters asking "Are you white?" and directing them to a website attacking Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico. The texts claimed Talarico called white men "America's top terror threat," referencing a comment he made after a mass shooting about radicalized white men being the greatest domestic terror threat.
James Talarico, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate; American Political Action Committee (AMERIPAC), Conservative PAC that paid for the text messages; Rep. Marc Veasey, Talarico ally, D-Fort Worth and 2 more
The Republican Party has focused on South Texas congressional and state legislative races ahead of midterm elections, as the region's voting patterns shift. GOP leaders including House Speaker Mike Johnson are campaigning in the area to support Republican candidates.
Republican Party, Political party running candidates in South Texas; Mike Johnson, House Speaker campaigning for GOP candidates; James Talarico, Candidate with primary victory support from South Texas voters and 1 more
Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico stepped off the campaign trail after being diagnosed with the flu. He disclosed his illness at a virtual Hispanic Business Council forum and canceled at least two campaign events.
James Talarico, Democratic Senate candidate, state representative from Austin; Ken Paxton, Republican Attorney General, opponent; JT Ennis, Talarico campaign spokesperson and 2 more
Texas will hold a general election on November 3, 2026. Early voting runs from October 19-30. Races include one U.S. Senate seat, all U.S. House seats, statewide offices, state representatives, statewide judicial candidates, and county offices.
Gov. Greg Abbott, Candidate for fourth gubernatorial term; Ken Paxton, Candidate for U.S. Senate; Colin Talarico, Candidate for U.S. Senate and 2 more
A TribCast episode examined Texas voter systems ahead of the November 3 election. Topics included the voter suspense list, Department of Public Safety voter registration issues, and election officials' preparations.
Natalia Contreras, Texas reporter for Votebeat; Eleanor Klibanoff, Law and politics reporter for The Texas Tribune
Republican political action committees Texas PAC and Senate Leadership Fund purchased advertising time during Fox's nationally broadcast NFL games on Sunday, October 5, 2026. The ads, which ran during the Cowboys-Texans, Eagles-Rams, Packers-Buccaneers, and Jets-Bears games, reached millions of viewers nationwide, including those outside Texas. The ads featured state Senator Angela Paxton urging support for the Republican ticket and attacked Democratic nominee James Talarico.
$$2 million for cost for one 30-second ad spot
Texas PAC, Super PAC affiliated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune; purchased and ran ads; Senate Leadership Fund, Political action committee tied to Senate Republicans; purchased and ran ads; Ken Paxton, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Texas; subject of ads and 2 more
In the most recent campaign finance reporting period, Democratic state Rep. Jon Rosenthal raised more money than Republican Bo French in the Texas Railroad Commission race. Rosenthal raised $488,415.56 while French raised $439,913.92 between July 1 and Sept. 24.
$$488,415.56 for campaign contributions
Jon Rosenthal, Democratic candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner; state representative; Bo French, Republican candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner; JB Pritzker, Illinois Governor; donor to Rosenthal and 3 more
Democrat James Talarico leads Republican Ken Paxton by six points in the Texas U.S. Senate race, according to a New York Times/Siena Research Institute poll. Advertising spending in the race has reached $442 million, the second most expensive non-presidential race on record.
$$442 million for U.S. Senate race advertising spending
James Talarico, Democrat candidate for U.S. Senate; State Representative; Ken Paxton, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate; Attorney General; Angela Paxton, State Senator (R-McKinney); appeared in ad during race and 2 more
President Donald Trump held a campaign rally in San Antonio on October 7 at Freeman Coliseum to support Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton. Texas Governor Greg Abbott did not attend, citing other planned campaign events.
Donald Trump, President; rally speaker; Ken Paxton, Republican Senate nominee; rally host; Greg Abbott, Texas Governor; did not attend and 3 more
Gov. Greg Abbott raised over $20 million from July through late September, more than challenger Gina Hinojosa's $13 million, but has spent $141.3 million total since the start of the year. Abbott ended the reporting period with $18.2 million in cash on hand versus Hinojosa's $4 million.
$Over $20 million for campaign funds raised
Greg Abbott, Republican incumbent Texas governor running for reelection; Gina Hinojosa, Democratic challenger in Texas governor race; Kim Snyder, Abbott campaign manager
Nathan Johnson, the Democratic candidate for Texas Attorney General, launched a seven-figure television ad buy on Monday. The 30-second spot criticizes current Attorney General Ken Paxton and argues for a new attorney general focused on the rule of law.
$Seven-figure for television ad buy
Nathan Johnson, Democratic candidate for Texas Attorney General; Ken Paxton, Current Texas Attorney General, Republican; Mayes Middleton, Republican candidate for Texas Attorney General
Basin PBS announced a debate for Texas Senate District 31 scheduled for Monday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m., featuring Republican Kevin Sparks and Democrat John Betancourt. The debate will be broadcast on Basin PBS and its Facebook and YouTube pages.
Basin PBS, organizer of debate series; Kevin Sparks, Republican candidate for Texas Senate District 31; John Betancourt, Democratic candidate for Texas Senate District 31
Angela Paxton, a Texas state senator estranged from and filing for divorce from Ken Paxton, appeared in an ad released over the weekend supporting the Republican ticket without naming her husband. She filed for divorce on "biblical grounds" in July 2025 citing his adultery.
Angela Paxton, Texas state senator, estranged wife of Ken Paxton; Ken Paxton, Republican Senate candidate; James Talarico, Democratic Texas state senator opposing Ken Paxton in Senate race and 1 more
Election officials across Texas are working to process a backlog of hundreds of thousands of voter registration records sent to counties due to a software error in the Texas Department of Public Safety web portal. The state's voter registration and management system, known as TEAM, is experiencing widespread technical problems that officials say are slowing their ability to clear the backlog before the October 5 registration deadline for midterm elections.
$Not stated for grants to reimburse county costs to process backlogged applications
Shannon Lackey, Randall County election administrator; Texas Secretary of State's Office, State agency responsible for TEAM system and voter registration; Civix, Vendor that developed the TEAM voter registration database system and 3 more