Talarico Targets Paxton’s Scandals in Texas Senate Race
HOUSTON (AP) — Democrat James Talarico launched his general election campaign for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday with a sharply adversarial message, framing Republican opponent and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as “the most corrupt politician in America” in a strategic pivot from his earlier optimistic primary tone. The race, which will determine who fills the seat vacated by four-term Sen. John Cornyn, is expected to be one of the most competitive and expensive in the country this cycle.
Talarico, a 36-year-old state representative from Austin and former middle school teacher, unveiled his new campaign theme — “The People vs. Ken Paxton” — at a rally in downtown Houston attended by roughly 1,000 supporters. The launch was deliberately timed to coincide with the third anniversary of Paxton’s impeachment by the Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives.
A Strategic Pivot
The shift in messaging marks a significant departure from Talarico’s more optimistic primary campaign, which emphasized faith, service, and his personal story as a Presbyterian seminarian. Now, according to AP News, Talarico is leaning into the same arguments against Paxton that Republican Senate leaders feared would make the attorney general a weaker general election candidate than Cornyn.
“Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in America,” Talarico told the crowd. “He has failed the character test. He has put his own interests above the laws of Texas. Those are not my words, those are the words of Ken Paxton’s fellow Republicans.”
Talarico also sought to tie Paxton’s ethical baggage to the economic concerns of everyday voters. “In America, we have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis,” he said.
Paxton’s Path to the Nomination
Paxton secured the Republican nomination on May 26 by defeating Cornyn in a runoff election with 63.8% of the vote, after no candidate reached the 50% threshold in the March 3 primary. The outcome marked a historic first: Cornyn became the first Republican senator from Texas to lose the party’s nomination for reelection, according to AP News.
President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Paxton on May 19 was widely seen as decisive. “When everyone in Washington told him to abandon me and abandon the people of Texas, he didn’t listen,” Paxton said in his victory speech. “President Trump is the leader of our party, and his endorsement is the most powerful force in politics.”
A History of Scandals
Paxton was impeached in May 2023 on 20 articles alleging corruption, abuse of office, and bribery — a vote that passed the Republican-controlled Texas House 121-23. He was later acquitted by the Texas Senate. The impeachment trial cost taxpayers $5.1 million, and the state paid an additional $6.6 million to whistleblowers who reported his conduct to the FBI, as reported by The Texas Tribune.
Paxton also faced felony fraud charges that the Justice Department declined to prosecute, and his office offered a controversial plea deal in a child sexual abuse case that drew widespread condemnation.
Fundraising Surge and National Implications
Talarico’s campaign reported raising $600,000 in small online donations within two hours of Paxton’s runoff victory — the most lucrative two-hour period since he announced his candidacy in September 2025. The primary and runoff elections saw over $168 million spent on airtime across both rounds, the highest-spend on record in the country, according to media tracking firm AdImpact.
Democrats need to gain a net of four seats to retake the Senate majority in November, and Texas is widely viewed as one of their best pickup opportunities. Paxton acknowledged as much in his victory speech, saying, “Without a shadow of a doubt, I will be the Democrats’ No. 1 target in November.”
The Battle Ahead
Republicans have already begun attacking Talarico over past statements on gender and religion. RNC Chair Joe Gruters called Talarico a “woke freak,” and Trump derided him on Truth Social as “possibly the worst TEXAS candidate I have ever seen.” Paxton has tested nicknames including “Tofu Talarico” and “Six-Gender Jimmy.”
Talarico, who has acknowledged regretting some past comments, dismissed the attacks. “If all they have is lying about me being a vegan, I feel pretty good about our chances this November,” he told CBS News.
Garry Jones, director of the pro-Talarico Lone Star Rising PAC, said in a memo that “Paxton’s vulnerabilities from the primary will continue to haunt him in the general election, notably that he is corrupt and can’t be trusted to do the job or hold public office.”
What to Watch
The general election on November 3 will test whether Talarico can break Texas’ 32-year streak of not electing a Democrat to statewide office — a drought that dates back to Lloyd Bentsen’s Senate victory in 1988. With massive outside spending expected from both parties, the race is shaping up to be a referendum on whether Paxton’s scandals matter more to a general election electorate than they did to Republican primary voters.