Candidate
Democrat
James Talarico
Texas State Representative · District 50
A former public-school teacher and nonprofit director, Talarico was first elected to the Texas House in 2018 and is studying to become a Presbyterian minister.
Texas Senate · 2026 · Candidate comparison
James Talarico vs. Ken Paxton
A side-by-side guide to the two candidates' stated agendas, public careers, and the documented episodes voters may want to weigh.
At a glance
The candidates in this race.
VS
Candidate
Republican
Ken Paxton
Texas Attorney General · since 2015
Impeached in 2023 by the GOP-controlled Texas House, Paxton was later acquitted by the Texas Senate. He has served as Texas's attorney general since 2015.
Where they stand
Where they differ.
Talarico
Public health option, prescription-drug cost action, a higher minimum wage, and a more progressive tax structure.
01
What should change the cost of living?
Paxton
An America First economic agenda and a focus on challenging regulation of Texas businesses and energy producers.
Talarico
Technology at ports, more asylum judges, legal pathways, and ICE accountability measures.
02
How should the border be handled?
Paxton
Finish the wall, strengthen enforcement, and pursue deportation of people the campaign calls criminal illegal immigrants.
Talarico
Voting rights, independent redistricting, stronger ethics rules, and limits on corporate and Super PAC influence.
03
Who should public policy protect first?
Paxton
Gun rights, abortion restrictions, parental rights, and limits on what the campaign calls radical gender ideology.
Talarico
Grid reliability, weatherization, clean-energy buildout, and less industrial pollution.
04
What does energy policy need to solve?
Paxton
Less regulation of Texas energy companies alongside his broader economic agenda.
Policy priorities.
James Talarico
DemocratOffer affordable public health insurance
Supports a public Medicare option for every age, lower drug prices, and restored health-insurance subsidies.
Raise wages and rebalance taxes
Supports a $15 federal minimum wage, larger working-family tax credits, and higher taxes on wealthy corporations.
Modernize border processing and accountability
Supports port screening technology, more asylum judges, legal immigration pathways, and identification requirements for ICE agents.
Expand preschool and strengthen classrooms
Supports preschool for three- and four-year-olds, teacher training, stronger school funding, and ending private-school vouchers.
Limit political money and conflicts
Supports independent redistricting, banning corporate PAC money, and prohibiting congressional stock trading.
Protect the grid and ratepayers
Supports grid weatherization and clean energy, with large data centers paying their own infrastructure costs.
Ken Paxton
RepublicanBorder enforcement
Campaign says he would finish the border wall, increase enforcement, and deport people it describes as criminal illegal immigrants.
Government power
Frames his agenda around fighting what he calls weaponized government and federal overreach.
Family & social policy
Campaign foregrounds gun rights, abortion restrictions, parental rights, and opposition to policies it calls the radical transgender movement.
Economy & energy
Promises an America First economic agenda and says he would take on regulations affecting Texas energy companies.
Consumer health
Campaign says he would press for transparency from large food and pharmaceutical companies.
The backgrounds
Public careers.
James Talarico
2019
Reasoning Mind regional executive director
Led Central Texas operations.
2018 election
Texas state representative
Was first elected to the Texas House.
2025 legislature
Trade and workforce committee vice chair
Serves as committee vice chair.
2025 legislature
Academic and career education vice chair
Serves as subcommittee vice chair.
2019
Helped reform school funding
Helped write a major school-finance reform.
2021
Helped cap preschool class sizes
Helped establish a 22-student pre-K limit.
2021
Helped establish an insulin copay limit
Helped cap insulin cost sharing at $25 per 30-day prescription in state-regulated plans.
Rhodes Middle School teacher
Taught sixth-grade language arts.
Helped authorize Canadian drug imports
Helped pass drug-importation legislation.
Helped fund student mental health
Helped open funding for school mental-health programs.
Helped expand diplomas for detained youth
Helped secure diploma opportunities for incarcerated minors.
Ken Paxton
2002–2012
Texas House
Elected to the Texas House in 2002 and represented House District 70 for a decade.
2012
Texas Senate
Elected to represent Senate District 8 in Collin and Dallas counties.
2015
Attorney general
Sworn in as Texas's 51st attorney general after winning the 2014 election.
2018 & 2022
Re-elected statewide
The attorney general's office says he won second and third terms in 2018 and 2022.
The record.
Texas public-records desk
The documents behind the headlines.
The record section separates reported allegations, court or legislative outcomes, and campaign claims—then links each item to its source.
James Talarico
DemocratCampaign tactic
Joining quorum breaks
Talarico's campaign says he joined Texas House quorum breaks over voting maps and voting rights. It presents the move as a legislative protest.
Why it matters: A disclosed political tactic; this is not a finding of misconduct.
Ken Paxton
RepublicanDocumented outcome
Impeached by a GOP-controlled House
In 2023, the Texas House voted 121–23 to adopt 20 articles of impeachment against Paxton. The Texas Senate later acquitted him on 16 articles and dismissed four held in abeyance.
Why it matters: A GOP-controlled House voted to impeach Paxton; the Senate acquittal meant he remained in office.
Documented outcome
Securities-fraud case resolution
In 2024, Paxton entered a pretrial agreement in the long-running state case that required restitution, community service, and legal-ethics education for the felony counts to be dropped. He said he was not guilty.
Why it matters: The agreement allowed him to remain in office; it was not a guilty plea.
Documented outcome
Child-sex-abuse plea deal drew scrutiny
In 2026, prosecutors in Paxton's office offered an initial deal to a Waco defendant charged with repeatedly sexually abusing a young boy: two misdemeanors and one day in jail. A judge rejected it; the later agreement required 30 days in jail and an admission to molesting the victim, but did not require sex-offender registration.
Why it matters: The office's prosecutors cited a hung jury and the child's wish not to testify again. The agreement drew criticism from local officials and political opponents.
Sources.
- 01Campaign
- 02Biography
- 03Priorities
- 04James Talarico campaign - taxes & cost of living
- 05James Talarico campaign - immigration & border security
- 06Biography
- 07James Talarico campaign - corruption & democracy
- 08James Talarico campaign - energy & environment
- 09Biography
- 10Biography
- 11Biography
- 12Biography
- 13Ken Paxton campaign - issues
- 14Associated Press - GOP-controlled House impeachment & Senate acquittal
- 15Texas Attorney General - Ken Paxton biography
- 16Associated Press - securities case resolution
- 17Texas Tribune - child-sex-abuse plea deal handled by Paxton's office
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