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
Texas Comptroller Don Huffines signed an executive order to end taxation on medical records, electronic health records, patient portals, and healthcare technology systems. A proposed rule amendment will be filed with the Texas Secretary of State, followed by a 30-day public comment period.
$Texans will no longer pay tax on accessing medical records, patient portals, and healthcare technology systems; comptroller noted extra fees had driven up general healthcare costs.
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
Texas legislators are finalizing a $10 billion property tax reduction bill that would boost the property tax exemption for Texans over 65 and those with disabilities from $10,000 to $60,000. Combined with a separate homestead exemption, this could provide total exemptions crest $200,000 and yearly savings of over $950 for more than two million homeowners.
$Younger homeowners and future property buyers may face higher property tax rates to compensate for reduced tax base from senior and disabled homeowner exemptions, per sources citing Texas Senate data and property tax experts.
Texas Legislature, drafting the bill; Texas Senate Local Government Committee, source of data on property tax exemptions; Taylor Scriber, millennial Texan commenting on property tax burden
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
Emmanuel Olugbaike Finnih, a former adjunct professor at Texas Southern University, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for a student financial aid fraud scheme. He pleaded guilty to theft of government funds, fraud, unlawful use of identity documents, and aggravated identity theft.
$$921,189.08 for student aid fraud obtained
Emmanuel Olugbaike Finnih, Former adjunct professor at Texas Southern University; defendant; U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, Judge who imposed the sentence; U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas
Clayton Lloyd Iley, a 41-year-old Stephenville businessman who ran an insurance brokerage, was sentenced to 160 months in federal prison for wire fraud and identity theft. He must forfeit over 90 collector vehicles to pay restitution to victims.
$$2 million for fraud scheme total
Clayton Lloyd Iley, Insurance brokerage owner, defendant; U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas; U.S. Department of Justice, Federal agency prosecuting case
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office is investigating pediatricians over alleged financial incentives to vaccinate children. The investigation includes demands for vaccine purchase records and practice policies from individual providers, and a separate investigation of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
$nearly $15,000 for legal fees paid by pediatrician responding to investigation demand
Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General; A Central Texas pediatrician, Recipient of investigation letter; small practice owner; American Academy of Pediatrics, Subject of separate investigation and 3 more
Political action committee ads supporting Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas U.S. Senate race aired during NFL games broadcast in multiple states on Sunday, October 4. The ads appeared during Eagles-Rams and Bears-Jets games in Philadelphia, Chicago, Iowa, and Virginia, among other locations.
$more than $200 million for political spending in Texas Senate race
Ken Paxton, Republican candidate in Texas U.S. Senate race; James Talarico, Democratic candidate in Texas U.S. Senate race; Michael Hagen, Associate professor of political science at Temple University and 1 more
Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones spent more than $223,000 over two years on billboards in Precinct 4, with 10 billboards titled "hurricane preparedness." Commissioner Briones did not respond to requests for comment.
$Tax dollars are being spent on billboards, according to Charles Blain.
Lesley Briones, Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner; Charles Blain, President of Urban Reform
CNN data analyst Harry Enten said Democrats' chances of winning the U.S. Senate depend heavily on the Texas Senate race between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton. Enten said Texas is the fourth most likely seat to flip and Talarico's victory would give Democrats a 78% chance of Senate control.
$$31 million for campaign spending
Harry Enten, CNN chief data analyst; James Talarico, Democratic state representative running for U.S. Senate; Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate backed by Trump and 1 more
El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte announced a staffing shift to cut overtime costs after the sheriff's office ended the fiscal year with a nearly $6 million deficit. The department plans to move operations officers to the downtown jail to reduce overtime by approximately 40% while maintaining state mandates.
$Nearly $6 million for sheriff's office fiscal year deficit
Oscar Ugarte, El Paso County Sheriff; Sergio Coronado, El Paso County Commissioner; El Paso County Sheriff's Office, Government agency and 1 more
Republican Governor Greg Abbott and Democrat Gina Hinojosa, candidates in the 2026 Texas governor race, have announced different approaches to reducing property taxes. Abbott proposes a four-point plan including spending limits, requiring two-thirds voter approval for tax increases, capping appraisal increases at 3%, and ending school districts' reliance on homeowner property taxes. Hinojosa aims to cut property taxes by using savings from ending corporate subsidies and eliminate residential property taxes entirely.
$Abbott proposes to cap appraisal increases at 3% and require two-thirds voter approval for local tax increases; Hinojosa aims to cut property taxes using corporate subsidy savings and eliminate residential property taxes.
Greg Abbott, Republican Governor, candidate for fourth term; Gina Hinojosa, Democrat state representative from Austin, gubernatorial candidate; Tarrant County Commissioners Court, Praised by Abbott for reducing tax rate four years in a row
Republican super PACs are spending heavily on ads supporting Ken Paxton's Texas Senate campaign. According to reports, $131 million has been spent over 17 days, with spending reaching up to $7.7 million per day.
$$131 million for spending on ads supporting Paxton campaign
Ken Paxton, Texas Senate candidate; James Talarico, opposing Senate candidate; Vlad Davidiuk, political consultant and 2 more
Local and state governments in Texas have increasingly made it difficult to access public records about Flock Safety surveillance cameras. North Richland Hills charged a records requester $2.3 million for Flock-related documents, citing labor costs. Other agencies have charged varying fees or denied access entirely.
$$2.3 million for public records invoice for Flock documents
Phil Mynona, Anti-surveillance advocate who filed public records requests to 200 law enforcement agencies on behalf of Texas Privacy Coalition; North Richland Hills, City that issued $2.3 million invoice for Flock records; Texas Privacy Coalition, Anti-surveillance group and 4 more
Charleston White, a 49-year-old Fort Worth native and internet personality, was arrested October 4 in Tarrant County on charges of possession of a controlled substance under one gram and possession of marijuana under two ounces. Bond was set at $1,500 for the controlled substance charge and $500 for marijuana possession.
$$1,500 for bond for possession of controlled substance charge
A software bug in Texas's voter registration system led to at least 590,000 voter registrations not being sent to county officials for processing. The Texas Election Administration Management (TEAM) system, rolled out in July 2025, has experienced multiple errors and data consistency problems that county officials say stem from fundamental system architecture failures.
$$17 million for contract amount for TEAM system overhaul
Civix, Louisiana-based technology and consulting firm that rolled out the TEAM system overhaul; Texas Secretary of State's office, State agency overseeing voter registration system; Texas Association of County Election Officials, Organization of county election officials and 4 more
Governor Greg Abbott announced that applications opened for an estimated $31 million in Fund for Veterans' Assistance (FVA) grants administered by the Texas Veterans Commission. Nonprofit organizations and local government agencies providing direct services to veterans may apply.
$$31 million for fund for Veterans' Assistance grants
Governor Greg Abbott, Announced grant funding; Texas Veterans Commission (TVC), Administers the grants; Laura Koerner, TVC Chairwoman and Navy veteran
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation sealed a deal Thursday to purchase a 650-acre ranch on Lake Palestine in Henderson County. The property will eventually become a Texas state park, with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department expected to purchase it from the foundation in late 2027.
$more than $10 million for purchase price of property
Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, Purchaser of property; Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Will purchase property in late 2027; Anne Brown, Executive director of Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation and 4 more