Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democratic state Rep. James Talarico are competing in the 2026 Texas U.S. Senate race. Paxton received an endorsement from President Donald Trump during the primary and defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn for the Republican nomination. The Texas House impeached Paxton over corruption allegations, though he was later acquitted. A Talarico victory would make him Texas's first Democratic U.S. senator in more than 30 years.
Where
Statewide
When
2026 midterm elections
Sources
Reported by 8 outlets
Taxes and money
The sources don't state an effect on taxes. They do state these figures.
AI campaign ads investmentover $137 million2Who pays or receives it: political candidates and supporting lobbyist groups
Who's involved
Ken PaxtonRepublican Attorney General running for U.S. Senate
James TalaricoDemocratic state representative running for U.S. Senate
Donald TrumpPresident who endorsed Paxton in primary
John CornynIncumbent Senator defeated by Paxton for Republican nomination
The facts
Republican Paxton received endorsement from President Trump during primary.1
Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn for Republican nomination.1
Texas House impeached Paxton over corruption allegations; he was later acquitted.1
Over 80% of AI campaign ads for 2026 midterms endorsed by Republican Party.2
69% of AI campaign ads lack required AI disclaimers.2
People were scammed into donating to fraudulent James Talarico deepfake ad.2
Who said what
These are statements and claims made by the people involved. They are reported, not verified.
Trump Accused Michigan Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed of extremist ties without evidence.1
James Talarico His allegiance is to the U.S. Constitution; denied extremism accusations.1
Ken Paxton Talarico is not right for America or Texas, in AI campaign ad.2
Where the sources disagree
Whether Texas Senate race between Paxton and Talarico is one of three key races to watch nationally Described as key race by KSLA [1]; no such characterization in other sources
How they headlined it
The same event, as each outlet put it. Marked words appear in only one outlet's headline.
Final 2026 midterm odds: Last look before Election Day
These outlets were found through Google News headlines. Google decides which outlets appear there, and they lean mostly one way, so this sheet can only be as balanced as the reporting it was built from. Leanings are AllSides Media Bias Ratings.
Democrats won a landslide victory in Tuesday's midterm election. Voters in 10 states rejected data center expansion in 40 of 41 local ballot measures. In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa was elected governor, the first Democrat since 1990, and pledged a statewide moratorium on data center approvals.
$$4.4 billion for debt owed by CoreWeave
Gina Hinojosa, Governor-elect of Texas, Democrat; Michael Intrator, CEO of CoreWeave; Democrats, Party that won midterm election and 1 more
Beto O'Rourke told Texas Democrats after their election victories Tuesday to pass three policies in the 2027 legislative session: expand Medicaid, raise the state minimum wage, and increase public school teacher salaries.
Beto O'Rourke, Democratic political figure; Texas Democrats, party members
Erica Romick, Democratic candidate for Texas House District 93, won the election with 50.5% of votes versus Republican Alan Blaylock's 49.5%, despite suspended campaign. Romick has a 2011 felony conviction in North Carolina for mortgage fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, raising questions about her eligibility under Texas law.
Erica Romick, Democratic candidate for Texas House District 93; Alan Blaylock, Republican candidate for Texas House District 93; Lane Telford, Executive director of the Texas Democratic Party and 1 more
James Talarico, who won election to the U.S. Senate from Texas on November 3, made a surprise appearance in Saturday Night Live's cold open on November 7, appearing alongside cast members playing Democratic leaders and President Trump.
James Talarico, Senator-elect from Texas; James Austin Johnson, SNL cast member playing Trump; Sarah Sherman, SNL cast member playing Chuck Schumer and 4 more
After Democrats won midterm elections this week, Democratic Senate candidate and Texas state Rep. James Talarico and other winning Democrats spoke of plans to investigate Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security once sworn in, and to put forward a new vision for immigration reform while both houses of Congress are in Democratic control.
James Talarico, Democratic Senate candidate and Texas state Rep.; Rep. Robert Garcia, Los Angeles-area Democrat who will take over House Oversight Committee; Democrats in Congress, Winners in midterm elections
James Talarico, Texas' incoming U.S. senator, filed with the Federal Election Commission to run for the U.S. Senate again in 2032 when his six-year term ends. The filing re-designates his campaign PAC and authorizes 10 additional political action committees to raise funds on his behalf.
James Talarico, incoming U.S. senator, Texas state representative
After more than a year of complaints from county election officials, Texas state officials acknowledged the voter registration management system called TEAM has not met performance expectations. The state announced it will conduct an independent audit of the system and create working groups with county officials to improve its function.
Texas Secretary of State Robert Howden, State official announcing audit and working groups; Christina Adkins, Secretary of state's elections division director; Kristin Miles, President of Texas Association of County Election Officials and elections administrator in Bastrop County and 1 more
Jefferson County voters elected independent Chris Lowery as sheriff and Democrat Efrem Neely as county judge in the Nov. 3 general election. Lowery defeated incumbent Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr. by 229 votes. Neely defeated Republican Nathaniel Todd by 2,488 votes.
Chris Lowery, independent candidate, elected sheriff; Lafayette Woods Jr., incumbent sheriff, defeated; Efrem B. Neely Sr., Democrat, elected county judge and 1 more