Texas voters statewide will choose between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee, and State Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, in the U.S. Senate race on Nov. 3. Paxton has served as attorney general since 2015 and was previously in the Texas House and Texas Senate. His campaign has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and several other groups and lawmakers. He defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the March Republican primary runoff by more than 25 points.
Talarico has served in the Texas House since 2018, representing parts of North Austin. He is a former public school teacher. The Dallas Morning News and the Houston Chronicle editorial boards have endorsed him, along with the AFL-CIO Texas and other groups.
The race is one of the most expensive midterm contests in the country, according to the report. Talarico reported raising more than $64 million in the third quarter of 2026. Tech billionaire Elon Musk has backed Paxton with multi-million-dollar super PAC donations. Talarico faced scrutiny after missing campaign events while sick with the flu in early October. Paxton's campaign asked him for proof of life, including a photo with a dated newspaper. Talarico has called for a debate with Paxton, and those calls have gone unanswered, the report said.