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Talarico and Paxton Tied in Texas Senate Race
Confirmed
In Short: A new Fox News poll shows Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico tied at 49% in Texas' U.S. Senate race.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton easily defeated Senator John Cornyn in a Republican primary runoff on Tuesday night, setting up a closely watched contest in November's general election against Democratic state legislator James Talarico.
According to a new Fox News poll, Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico are tied at 49% in Texas' U.S. Senate race.
Paxton, 62, has already begun focusing on the November general election, airing television ads over the past week that attack Talarico as a left-wing extremist.
Many Democrats view Paxton as the weaker candidate and see this as an opportunity to flip a Senate seat in a state that hasn't elected a Democrat since 1988.
During a rally in San Antonio, Paxton called out Talarico's 11-day absence from the campaign trail, citing bureaucratic delays and a priority-based referral system for his own medical appointments.
Talarico, who has been absent from in-person campaigning for nearly two weeks, cited the flu as the reason for his absence.
Paxton's campaign spokesperson Madison Cercy said in a statement to KFF Health News that Paxton will continue his record of advancing policies that protect children online, strengthen parental rights, and hold Big Tech accountable.
Talarico is touting cross-party endorsements from 21 current and former Republican officials in his campaign against Paxton.
In a post on his social media site Truth Social after Paxton's win, Trump congratulated Paxton and said he would 'become a fantastic, common sense senator'.
A new Ken Paxton James Talarico Texas poll from the Siena Research Institute shows Talarico leading Paxton 51% to 45%, a six-point swing from their June tie.
The University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll fielded August 5-13 shows the devoutly Christian Democrat leading Paxton 42 percent to 39 percent.
Background
College Football Week 7 featured several high-profile games and upsets, including Texas, Georgia, and Alabama all falling on the same day.
Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico is facing criticism for his recent absence from public events and media appearances, including a scheduled interview with Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form a bicameral system for the state legislature of Texas.
What's confirmed
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton easily defeated Senator John Cornyn in a Republican primary runoff on Tuesday night, setting up a closely watched contest in November's general election against Democratic state legislator James Talarico.
- According to a new Fox News poll, Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico are tied at 49% in Texas' U.S. Senate race.
- Paxton, 62, has already begun focusing on the November general election, airing television ads over the past week that attack Talarico as a left-wing extremist.
- Many Democrats view Paxton as the weaker candidate and see this as an opportunity to flip a Senate seat in a state that hasn't elected a Democrat since 1988.
- During a rally in San Antonio, Paxton called out Talarico's 11-day absence from the campaign trail, citing bureaucratic delays and a priority-based referral system for his own medical appointments.
- Talarico, who has been absent from in-person campaigning for nearly two weeks, cited the flu as the reason for his absence.
- Paxton's campaign spokesperson Madison Cercy said in a statement to KFF Health News that Paxton will continue his record of advancing policies that protect children online, strengthen parental rights, and hold Big Tech accountable.
- Talarico is touting cross-party endorsements from 21 current and former Republican officials in his campaign against Paxton.
- In a post on his social media site Truth Social after Paxton's win, Trump congratulated Paxton and said he would 'become a fantastic, common sense senator'.
- A new Ken Paxton James Talarico Texas poll from the Siena Research Institute shows Talarico leading Paxton 51% to 45%, a six-point swing from their June tie.
- The University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll fielded August 5-13 shows the devoutly Christian Democrat leading Paxton 42 percent to 39 percent.
What's still developing
- While the outcome had been expected for weeks, it marks a stunning defeat for an incumbent who served in Congress for 23 years, including 12 years as a high-ranking member of the Senate Republican leadership team.
- Although Paxton is falling short of Trump’s 2024 margins, he has strengthened his support a tad among both men (+1) and women (+1) since September, while Talarico slightly lost support (-1 and -2, respectively).
- The latest survey by the UH Hobby School of Public Affairs shows Democratic state Rep. James Talarico leading GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton by two percentage points among likely voters, just within the margin of error.
- Although Paxton is trailing his 2024 margins, he has ticked up slightly with both men and women (+1 each) since September, whereas Talarico experienced a slight dip (-1 and -2, respectively).
- Six remain undecided with 2% supporting Libertarian Ted Brown, according to the poll.
- Take our content — please! — You’re welcome to republish this article for free as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which includes using our canonical URL and pixel tracker on your story pages whenever possible. by Hien An Ngo and Apurva Mahajan, The Texas Tribune August 7, 2026 Texas’ candidates in this year’s U.S. Senate race are neck and neck, according to recent polling.
- The Trump-backed Paxton received 62.5% of the votes compared to Cornyn’s 37.5% when the Associated Press called the race.
- He is “clearly transitioning into a female,” reported White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller.
- The New York Times first reported on the leaked recording, which came from a small Paxton fundraiser where an attendee recorded the conversation.
- OAN Staff Katherine Mosack 12:21 PM – Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Vice President JD Vance held a midterm rally to boost support for Republican candidates, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running against Democrat state Representative James Talarico for the U.S. Senate.