Everything’s bigger in the Lone Star State, including the stakes of the Senate race between James Talarico and Ken Paxton.
The Candidate -- James Talarico
An eighth-generation Texan, James Talarico entered public service as a middle-school teacher before flipping a Republican-held seat in the state House. Throughout his time in the Texas legislature, James has fought to support public schools, lower healthcare costs, and take on corruption in politics.
In the Senate, James will put the people back in charge, instead of the rich billionaires and their puppet politicians. While those in power attempt to divide, James is focused on uniting us, regardless of our differences. The system is broken, and he is prepared to fight to fix it.
Everything is bigger in Texas, including campaign needs. With 254 counties to organize, 20 media markets to cover, and nearly 19 million voters to persuade, competing in Texas is a monumental undertaking. Please consider splitting a donation between the Talarico campaign and the DSCC to help support James and win back the Senate majority.
Your donation will be split between Talarico for Texas and the DSCC.
The Opponent -- Ken Paxton
While James is fighting against corruption, his opponent, Ken Paxton, embodies it. The list of Paxton’s scandals is far too long to fully capture here, but here are some of his lowlights.
Paxton became the first Attorney General of Texas to face impeachment -- at the hands of his own Republican allies. Paxton’s staff reported him to federal law enforcement to investigate potential bribery and “abuse of office [ [link removed] ],” including whether he was “benefit[ing] a wealthy donor. [ [link removed] ]”
Paxton has also used his public office to benefit himself [ [link removed] ]. His net worth has increased by up to 7,000% while in office, with his personal wealth ballooning [ [link removed] ] to up to $12 million. He now owns 15 properties [ [link removed] ] across the country -- including in Hawaii and four condos at a luxury resort in Utah -- begging the question of how Paxton was able to afford all this while in public office.
Abhorrently, Paxton also gave a lenient plea deal to an admitted child abuser [ [link removed] ], which only required him to serve thirty days [ [link removed] ] in jail [ [link removed] ] and kept him off the sex offender registry in Texas. This is nothing more than an Epstein-style sweetheart deal that protected a child predator.
And Paxton’s most recent scandal only adds to the pile of reasons Texans can’t trust Paxton. Paxton is now under fire for appearing to vote illegally [ [link removed] ] -- a second-degree felony in Texas -- by casting ballots from an address where he no longer lives in as many as six recent elections.
Scandal. Corruption. Self-enrichment. That’s “Crooked Ken” [ [link removed] ] Paxton, all right.
If you want to defeat Ken Paxton and other Republicans like him, chip in a donation split between James Talarico’s campaign and the DSCC.
Your donation will be split between Talarico for Texas and the DSCC.
The Forecast
Republicans are facing their nightmare scenario in Texas. A scandal-plagued, MAGA loyalist going up against an all-star Texan recruit. The race is already competitive, and it is only going to get more so as we get closer to Election Day.
Via The Cook Political Report: [ [link removed] ] “National Republicans now have a candidate they’ve long assailed as the weaker general election nominee”
Via Sabato’s Crystal Ball: [ [link removed] ] “Republicans went with a riskier general election candidate”
Via G. Elliott Morris: [ [link removed] ] “The Texas Senate election is a tossup”
Let’s take a look at some polling for this race to see just how close it is.
The Polls
Almost all of the polling in this race has been within the margin of error, with James Talarico leading with the widest margin [ [link removed] ] any Democratic U.S. Senate candidate has had in the state of Texas, at this point in the cycle, in decades.
We cannot, under any circumstances, give Ken Paxton an opening to win this race. But flipping Texas will take a lot of hard work. This is uncharted territory, and we need to take advantage of it.
If we want James Talarico to be Texas’s next senator, he is going to need your support. If you can, please consider chipping in and splitting a donation between the DSCC and James’s campaign below.
James Talarico is going into this election with a message of optimism and hope. He is working to fix a broken system that has plagued our politics for far too long. He is fighting for something positive, while Paxton is fighting for himself.
The General Election is on November 3. It’s closer than you think, and we are going to need to put the pedal to the metal every single day between now and then.
Knocking doors. Phone banking. Canvassing. Donating. These are all critical things you can do to make a blue Texas a reality. This race is going to be no joke, but with your help, we can win.
As they say, everything is bigger in Texas, and that includes the stakes of this election. Tip the balance in our favor by splitting a donation between the DSCC and James Talarico’s campaign.
If you want to stay up to date on the race for the Senate, consider subscribing to the DSCC’s Substack and following along on our In the States series.
A personal message from Devan, DSCC Executive Director:
Thank you for taking the time to check out our Substack! It’s grassroots supporters like you that fuel our fight to flip the Senate.
The DSCC is the only committee solely dedicated to flipping the Senate blue, which is why it’s so important that we have the resources we need to achieve our mission.
Your support allows us to hold our out-of-touch Republican opponents accountable and put a check on Trump’s out-of-control power. As Executive Director, I can personally assure you your donation will be put to good use.
If you want to make a difference today, chip in below. I am incredibly grateful for your support.
- Devan