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Before he was even sworn in, state regulators had flagged Paxton's investment activities. He had been soliciting investors for Servergy Inc., a technology company, without proper registration. The investigation would later lead to criminal charges.

Special prosecutors were appointed because local prosecutors had conflicts of interest. Years of disputes over how much these prosecutors should be paid stalled the case. The trial was moved between multiple counties. The delays meant Paxton served the better part of a decade as the state's top law enforcement officer while under pending felony indictment. No ordinary citizen would have had such leverage to delay their own trial.

The lawsuit asked the Court to block the certification of election results in four states that President Biden won. SCOTUS rejected the case for lack of standing, with the Court finding Texas had not demonstrated a legally cognizable interest in how other states run their elections. The suit was criticized by legal scholars across the political spectrum. Some observers noted the suit was filed shortly after Paxton had allegedly sought a presidential pardon for his securities fraud charges.

Four of the original eight whistleblowers sued under the Texas Whistleblower Act, alleging they were fired in retaliation for reporting Paxton to the FBI. Paxton tentatively settled for $3.3 million in Feb 2023 but needed legislative approval to pay with state funds. The Legislature's refusal to fund the settlement — with Republicans and Democrats balking — drew increased scrutiny that catalyzed the House impeachment investigation. In April 2025, Travis County District Judge Catherine Mauzy ruled the whistleblowers had proven their case and ordered the AG's office to pay $6.6 million. Paxton dropped the appeal in July 2025, locking in the taxpayer-funded payment.

Conviction required a two-thirds supermajority. The Senate is more conservative than the House. No article reached the 21-vote threshold for conviction; the highest count was 14 votes. Angela Paxton's mandatory attendance created an extraordinary spectacle — she sat through testimony that included allegations of her husband's extramarital affair while unable to cast a vote. Paxton was reinstated as AG immediately following acquittal.

Adam Hoffman, a Waco attorney, was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child — a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison. The Attorney General’s office took over the prosecution around 2023, after the locally elected district attorney recused. A 2025 jury trial ended in a mistrial, deadlocking 7–5, and the child declined to testify at a retrial.

Prosecutors in Paxton’s office then offered Hoffman a plea to two misdemeanors — indecent assault and display of harmful material to a minor — neither of which requires sex-offender registration, with an initial recommendation of one day in jail. On April 16, 2026, visiting Judge Roy Sparkman rejected that recommendation (“One day. Seriously?”); the revised offer was 30 days. On April 27, 2026, the judge increased the sentence to 60 days and required Hoffman to surrender his law license for five years. Hoffman served 29 days. In a letter, the office said that “although our office had no pathway to prove the elements necessary to secure a felony conviction without the child’s testimony, we did secure jail time for his abuser and admission to a lesser offense.”

The terms drew bipartisan criticism, including from Republicans — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, state Rep. Jeff Leach (who called the deal “incomprehensible”), state Rep. Pat Curry, and McLennan County District Attorney Josh Tetens — and protesters marched at the McLennan County courthouse. PolitiFact rated the central claim about the plea “Mostly True” (June 3, 2026), noting the added context of the hung jury and the child’s unwillingness to testify again.

The endorsement comes after months of speculation about whether Trump would weigh in. Polls before the endorsement showed the race within the margin of error (UH poll: Paxton 48%, Cornyn 45%). The endorsement is consistent with Trump's pattern of backing primary challengers to GOP incumbents he views as insufficiently loyal.

Final results: Paxton 63.4% / Cornyn 36.6% on roughly 903,000 votes cast. Cornyn became the first Texas senator since 1970 to lose to a same-party challenger. Pro-Cornyn forces outspent pro-Paxton forces approximately 9-to-1 overall and 3-to-1 during the runoff period itself; the Trump endorsement one week prior is broadly credited as decisive.

Paxton's victory statement: “Tonight, we just sent a Texas-sized message to Washington.” Cornyn's concession: “I fought the good fight. I finished the race, I kept the faith.”

Within minutes of the call, Cook Political Report moved the Texas Senate race from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican.” Paxton now faces Democrat James Talarico, an Austin state representative, in the general election on November 3, 2026.

The NRSC — the Senate GOP's official campaign arm — had published a sustained line of attack against Paxton during the runoff. Specific deleted items reported by CNN's KFile include the labels “Crooked Ken,” a digital ad titled “Ken Paxton Has a Dark Secret,” and a separate ad accusing Paxton of “Helping the Woke Left” by giving nearly $1 million to gender-affirming programs. The committee also removed accusations that Paxton had given favorable treatment to an alleged child sex trafficker.

Within hours of the Associated Press calling the race for Paxton on May 26, those press releases and ads disappeared from the NRSC site. Google's ad-transparency database, which archives served ads independently of the advertiser, was the receipt that made the deletions visible.

Talarico, an Austin state representative who won the Democratic primary on March 3 with 52.4% over Jasmine Crockett, had run his primary campaign on a relatively positive message. On May 27, the day after Paxton secured the Republican nomination, Talarico's general-election launch shifted to a corruption frame. Washington Post and Texas Tribune both reported the pivot: the campaign's new ads lead with Paxton's 2023 impeachment, his felony indictments, and the $6.6 million whistleblower judgment against the AG's office.

Per Talarico's framing, Paxton represents a political establishment that uses power to serve itself rather than the people. Per Paxton's countermessaging, Talarico is “the most extreme radical the Democrats have ever nominated.” The lines are drawn for the November 3 general.

Paxton's office had adopted rules requiring district and county attorneys representing populations of 400,000 or more to submit “initial, quarterly, and annual reports relating to criminal matters and the interests of the state.” The rules also required reporting on indictments against police officers and poll workers, case resolutions, and internal communications about how prosecutors make decisions. Non-compliance could be treated as “official misconduct” — a finding that can result in removal from office.

The counties that sued — Dallas, Harris, Travis, El Paso, Bexar, Fort Bend, and Williamson — are the state's largest and have mostly Democratic prosecutors. Judge Mauzy ruled May 7 that the rules were invalid and exceeded the AG's statutory authority. Paxton appealed on May 29 to the 15th Court of Appeals, the same court that had previously upheld Mauzy's temporary injunction in the same matter.

Disposition. In a memorandum opinion issued Oct. 1, 2026, the Fifteenth Court of Appeals affirmed the Travis County final judgment: Texas Government Code Section 41.006 does not give the attorney general authority to adopt rules imposing the reporting requirements, so the rules are invalid and their enforcement against the plaintiff prosecutors and counties (Dallas, Harris, Bexar, Travis, El Paso, Fort Bend and Williamson) is permanently enjoined. The opinion addresses the attorney general’s authority to adopt formal rules; it states that whether the attorney general may request information from a prosecutor on an individual basis is outside the scope of the appeal. Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said on Oct. 6: “This is another important victory for the rule of law and for the independence of locally elected prosecutors.” His office said the litigation had cost the county more than $227,000. Paxton’s office did not respond to requests for comment or say whether it would seek review in the Supreme Court of Texas (The Dallas Morning News; KERA News, Oct. 6, 2026).

A joint fundraising committee (JFC) is a vehicle that lets multiple political committees collect a single contribution from a donor and then split it among them according to a pre-set formula. The June 1 filing lists Paxton’s campaign, his leadership PAC, and the NRSC as participants — allowing major donors to write one large check that benefits all three at once.

The filing comes five days after the NRSC deleted at least nine press releases and digital ads attacking Paxton (see entry above for May 27), one day before Senate Majority Leader John Thune attended Paxton’s Capitol Hill fundraiser (see entry below for June 2), and follows reporting that pro-Cornyn forces had spent roughly $90M trying to stop Paxton during the runoff (see Excerpt No. 07 in From the Public Record).

Angela Paxton filed for divorce on July 10, 2025, citing “biblical grounds” — a phrase that, in the conservative Christian tradition she and her husband publicly identify with, refers to infidelity. The court set the trial for June 24–26, 2026 in Collin County. It would have been a public proceeding.

On June 2, 2026 — one week after Paxton's GOP Senate runoff win — the parties' attorneys jointly told the court a trial setting was “no longer necessary,” stating that “the parties have made substantial progress toward an amicable resolution of all issues and remain engaged in productive discussions.” The cancellation removes from the calendar a public proceeding that would have featured testimony about the alleged extramarital affair referenced in the impeachment trial.

The Oval Office meeting was Paxton's first sit-down with the president since securing the nomination. Lt. Gov. Patrick attended; the White House framed the meeting as consolidating support and laying groundwork for fundraising in one of the most competitive Senate races of the 2026 midterms.

Paxton then went to Capitol Hill for a Senate Republican fundraiser. Among attendees: Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who had publicly supported John Cornyn in the runoff, and Sen. Ted Cruz. Leaving the event, Cruz told reporters he didn't yet have a number but was “confident it was substantial.” The unification picture comes one week after the NRSC quietly scrubbed its “Crooked Ken” attacks from the public record.

Cogdell, a veteran Houston criminal-defense attorney, was first hired by Paxton in 2015 to defend him against securities-fraud charges, and later served on the defense team at Paxton’s 2023 impeachment trial — which ended in acquittal by the Republican-controlled Texas Senate.

On June 8, 2026 he endorsed Paxton’s Democratic opponent, James Talarico. Cogdell said the move was not a “betrayal,” that Paxton has grown “more focused on serving President Trump than Texans,” and that “Ken has lost sight of his core mission, which is to represent the people of Texas.” Cogdell describes himself as a registered Democrat and political moderate who has given more in campaign contributions to Republicans than Democrats over the years.

The Paxton campaign dismissed the endorsement, with an aide noting that Cogdell “is a Democrat and voted in the Democratic primary in 2024.”

Paxton filed suit in Texas state court in April 2026 alleging ActBlue had allowed fraudulent foreign donations through gift cards and prepaid debit cards. ActBlue countersued in federal court in Massachusetts on May 1, arguing the state suit was a First Amendment violation. Judge Stearns had previously signaled, in a tentative opinion, that ActBlue was likely to prevail on the merits.

On June 11, Stearns made it official, granting the preliminary injunction. The court ruled ActBlue was likely to succeed in showing Paxton’s state suit violated the platform’s First Amendment free-speech protections, and that Paxton's investigation was opened the day after a fundraising surge for his Democratic opponent made headlines. From the ruling: “The lawsuit was filed in retaliation for (and in an attempt to suppress) ActBlue’s efforts to fund Talarico’s campaign.”

The injunction also bars Paxton from bringing any new state civil enforcement action premised on the same conduct, effectively closing off a re-filing workaround.

Paxton appealed. The appeal was docketed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on June 16, 2026 as ActBlue LLC v. Paxton, No. 26-1713, on a notice of appeal filed in the district court the previous day. His office filed its opening brief in August 2026, asking the court to reverse the injunction and direct the district court to dismiss ActBlue’s federal suit. According to his office, the brief argues the Massachusetts court improperly interfered with a pending state enforcement action, lacked jurisdiction over the Texas attorney general’s office, and was an improper venue. As of this entry, no ruling on the appeal has been reported.

Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby had admitted placing thousands of sports bets, including wagers on games involving his own team at a previous school. On June 8, 2026 a Lubbock County judge barred the NCAA from punishing him; the Big 12 maintained it retained independent authority to discipline its member schools.

On June 11, 2026, Paxton sent Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark a letter warning that sanctioning Texas Tech could expose the conference to “substantial legal liability,” threatening a suit for more than $200 million and asserting that antitrust law shielded the school. On June 15 the conference pre-empted him, filing a federal complaint in the Northern District of Texas that names Texas Tech officials and Paxton, and seeks declarations that his threats are “unlawful retaliation” against its freedom of association and that its rules do not violate antitrust law.

The filing landed the same week a federal judge separately enjoined Paxton’s ActBlue lawsuit as “retaliation” — two retaliation claims against the Attorney General’s office in one week. Texas Tech said the day before the suit that Sorsby would not play this fall; he is expected to enter the NFL supplemental draft. The conference’s characterizations are allegations in a pending civil complaint; no court has ruled on them.

In November 2025, Paxton sued Harris County to stop it from funding nonprofits that provide legal defense to immigrants facing deportation, arguing the program was an unconstitutional gift of public funds and, in his filing, calling it “wicked.” District judges and the all-Republican 15th Court of Appeals had ruled against him before he appealed to the Texas Supreme Court.

On June 26, 2026, the Texas Supreme Court ordered the program paused “until further order,” writing that the county had not clearly shown “constitutional statutory authority to conduct” it and that there was “serious doubt about the constitutionality” of the fund — without deciding the merits. Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin said the ruling was not final and the county would “continue to defend this program vigorously.” Paxton has filed parallel suits against Bexar County and, on separate grounds, against Austin and San Antonio.

On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court decided NRSC v. FEC 6–3, holding that federal limits on how much a political party may spend in direct coordination with its candidates violate the First Amendment. Party committees may now coordinate unlimited spending with campaigns. Justice Kavanaugh wrote for the majority; Justice Kagan dissented, writing that the caps “are needed to avert corrupt deals between candidates and their supporters.”

Reporting tied the ruling to Paxton’s U.S. Senate campaign: after winning the May 26, 2026 GOP runoff over incumbent John Cornyn, Paxton trailed Democrat James Talarico in fundraising — about $2.3 million cash on hand to Talarico’s $9.9 million (per FEC reporting cited by the outlets), with Talarico raising roughly twelve times more in the first quarter. Former FEC chair Trey Trainor said the change “would definitely make up for any of the fundraising woes” Paxton has had, given the RNC’s cash advantage.

According to a fundraiser invitation obtained by Axios and separately by The Texas Tribune, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott will be featured at a July 22, 2026 fundraiser for Paxton’s general-election Senate campaign. The Tribune reported the Paxton campaign and the NRSC established a joint fundraising committee called “Paxton Victory,” citing an FEC filing dated on or about July 2, 2026.

The move marks a reversal: Thune-aligned Senate leadership and the NRSC spent months opposing Paxton’s primary bid against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn — national Republicans spent more than $90 million defending Cornyn’s seat and ran ads calling Paxton incompetent — and are now backing him as the nominee to protect the GOP Senate majority against Democrat James Talarico.

In July 2026, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune reported that Paxton cast ballots using an address at which his estranged wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, had said he did not reside for approximately two years. Paxton’s campaign has said he is a “lawful, registered Texas voter” and has declined to answer detailed questions about his residency and voting history.

The reporting drew attention because Paxton has made enforcement of voter-fraud law a signature of his tenure as attorney general, including pursuing cases against voters alleged to have used false addresses.

In follow-up reporting published August 5, 2026, the same newsrooms reported that Talarico voted in five elections using his parents’ address after purchasing a home for himself nearby — conduct that may likewise implicate state voting law.

Neither candidate has been charged with an offense in connection with these registrations. Texas courts have held that there is no single controlling test for determining a voter’s residence, and prosecution requires proof that a voter acted “knowingly” or “intentionally.”

On August 20, 2026, the Cook Political Report — a nonpartisan election handicapper — moved the Texas U.S. Senate race from its Lean Republican column to Toss Up, alongside a parallel move in the Iowa Senate race. Cook reported that Republicans retain a structural advantage in the midterms overall, but that public and private polling showed the Texas contest more competitive than a Lean Republican rating conveyed.

A University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll released in late August 2026 found roughly one-third of respondents described Paxton as “honest and trustworthy.”

On August 26, 2026, the campaign of Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico filed a petition to intervene in Collin County district court seeking to unseal transcripts of depositions Paxton sat for in 2019 and 2022.

The underlying civil matter dates to 2016, when North Texas businessman Charles Loper III — who oversees Paxton’s blind trust — accused the energy company Unity Resources and two of its investors, Byron Cook and Joel Hochberg, of defrauding him. Cook and Hochberg in turn accused Loper and Paxton of acting to discredit them because they were set to serve as witnesses in the separate criminal securities-fraud case against Paxton. Paxton had previously served as a lawyer and board member for Unity and invested in the company.

In that separate criminal case, Paxton was indicted in 2015 on allegations he recruited investors to a McKinney technology company without disclosing he would be paid a commission. Prosecutors dropped the charges before trial in 2024 under an agreement requiring Paxton to pay restitution and complete legal ethics coursework. The criminal charges were dismissed without any adjudication of guilt.

The Talarico campaign argued in the petition that voters have an interest in reviewing the sworn statements before the November 3, 2026 general election. As of this entry the petition is pending and the transcripts remain sealed.

On Sept. 21, 2026, state Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, representing Charles Loper III, filed in Collin County to oppose the petition, arguing the court lacks jurisdiction over the campaign’s request, that the transcripts were submitted only for an in-camera ruling on discoverability and are not court records, and that the campaign cannot seek “unfiled documents based on vague public reporting” (The Texas Tribune, Oct. 2, 2026). NBC 5 reported on Oct. 8 that the court was weighing the request, with Paxton’s side maintaining there is no legal basis for release. The campaign has said it wants the testimony public before the Nov. 3 election. No ruling had been reported as of Oct. 9.

CNN extended an invitation for a Texas U.S. Senate debate with a deadline of Wednesday evening, September 2, 2026. Talarico accepted before the deadline; the deadline passed without an acceptance from Paxton’s campaign, as reported September 3, 2026.

Rather than accept or formally decline, Paxton campaign adviser Nick Maddux said in a statement (Sept. 2026): “No Texan wants to watch James Talarico and two of his fellow far-left activists posing as moderators spew left-wing talking points in a ‘debate.’”

Reporting placed this as the fourth debate invitation Paxton had not accepted, after invitations including ones from Hearst and NBC/Telemundo. Both candidates have said they want to debate at least once before the general election; as of early September 2026 only Talarico had accepted multiple invitations.

Talarico wrote on X on September 1, 2026: “I agreed to 3 debates over a month ago. You declined every single one. You love to talk tough on Fox. Say it to me on the debate stage.”

In a report published September 4, 2026, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune reported that Paxton’s recent federal financial disclosures — required of U.S. Senate candidates under the Ethics in Government Act — appear to depart from federal requirements in three respects.

Unreported rental income. The newsrooms reported finding recent rental listings for six properties Paxton disclosed but for which he selected the income option “None (or less than $201)”: two homes in Ocala, Florida; a home and a condo in Austin; a home in College Station; and a lodge in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, listed online as a short-term rental at up to $1,200 a night. A tenant confirmed to the newsrooms that she lives at one of the Florida houses, and a neighbor said the Austin condo has a renter. Three ethics experts told the newsrooms that receiving such income without reporting it violates federal disclosure law.

Undisclosed mortgages. Federal law requires non-incumbent candidates to report loans exceeding $10,000 other than those on a personal residence. Reporters located mortgage documents in local land records for three condos Paxton purchased in February 2026 at the Black Desert Resort in southwest Utah, totaling approximately $1.3 million, which did not appear on the disclosure covering a period running through mid-May 2026.

Valuation swings. Paxton’s reported net worth moved from a range of negative $1.9 million to $11.1 million a year earlier to a range of $1 million to $27 million in the August 2026 filing. The newsrooms reported the change was driven not by new acquisitions but by revaluing existing property — the Oklahoma lodge (county-assessed at $176,000) and a 42-acre Johnson County plot (assessed as farmland at $20,008) each jumped to a reported range of $1 million to $5 million.

Margaret Dylus-Yukins, senior counsel for ethics at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center and a former U.S. Office of Government Ethics analyst, called the unexplained revaluation “very strange” and said (Sept. 2026): “When you have public officials that appear to be fudging the numbers on their disclosure forms, and the Senate Ethics Committee is letting that slide, then you’re not only eroding trust in the committee but the candidate himself.”

Candidates or senators who willingly falsify financial disclosures may be fined up to $50,000 or prosecuted for making a false statement to the government, a felony. The Senate Select Committee on Ethics did not respond to the newsrooms’ requests for comment and has not formally sanctioned a member in 19 years. No finding of violation has been made by any tribunal; the characterizations above are those of the reporting newsrooms and the experts they cite.

According to a Federal Election Commission filing reported September 5, 2026, MAGA Inc. — the super PAC aligned with President Donald Trump — committed $10 million to the Texas U.S. Senate race: $5 million for negative advertising targeting Democratic nominee James Talarico and $5 million for advertising supporting Paxton. Both disbursements were made to Del Ray Media Inc., a political media firm, covering television and digital placement.

CBS News and NBC News reported it as the committee’s first major contribution of the 2026 midterm cycle, drawn from a war chest reported at roughly $400 million.

The expenditure continues a reversal by national Republican organizations that had opposed Paxton during the primary, when party-aligned groups spent heavily to defend incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (see File No. 26-Sen-Thune, July 6, 2026).

At the Republican Party’s midterm convention in Dallas on September 9, 2026, Trump pledged to return to Texas to campaign for Paxton: “I’ll be coming back to Texas, because we have to elect Ken Paxton” (Sept. 9, 2026). In the same address, Trump said Paxton “may not dress right. He may not talk exactly perfectly, and he may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen. But you know what he is? He’s the greatest attorney general in America, and he deserves to be your next senator.”

Maxwell spent nearly 50 years in Texas law enforcement — as a Texas Ranger, a sergeant in the Department of Public Safety, and for nearly a decade as director of law enforcement for the attorney general’s office. In 2020 he and other senior agency staff reported Paxton to the FBI, alleging he had improperly used the office to benefit his friend and donor Nate Paul. After they were fired, they sued under the Texas Whistleblower Act.

Announcing the endorsement, Maxwell said in a statement (Sept. 8, 2026): “Ken Paxton ended my five-decade career in public service because I blew the whistle on his corruption. Today, I’m endorsing James Talarico because Texans deserve a Senator who serves the people — not a crook who serves himself.”

At the 2023 impeachment trial, Maxwell testified that Paxton pushed him to pursue investigations on Paul’s behalf, and that he warned Paxton he “was going to get himself indicted.” The Texas Senate acquitted Paxton.

In 2025 a judge ordered the state to pay the whistleblowers $6.6 million. Paxton has not admitted wrongdoing, and investigations into his relationship with Paul have been closed without action. Paxton’s campaign did not respond to the Statesman’s request for comment.

Fox News reported on Sept. 11, 2026 that the Senate Leadership Fund — the super PAC tied to Senate Majority Leader John Thune — announced the launch of Texas PAC to support Paxton’s campaign. The Texas Tribune reported the same day that the new group had purchased an initial tranche of broadcast television advertising across the state’s four largest media markets, citing the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. The Tribune first put the buy at roughly $32 million and later revised the AdImpact estimate to about $51.3 million. Texas PAC’s first two ads began airing on Sept. 12, 2026.

The buy marks Senate Republicans’ first financial engagement in Texas since the primary, when party-aligned groups spent to defend Sen. John Cornyn against Paxton (see File No. 26-Sen-Thune, July 6, 2026). Per the Tribune’s revised AdImpact figures, Republican groups have spent or reserved $81.1 million in advertising since the May runoff, including reservations through the end of September, against $43.7 million for Democrats — nearly all of the latter from Talarico’s own campaign, which pays a lower legally mandated broadcast rate than outside groups do. As of Sept. 11, 2026 the Paxton campaign itself had not made a major television buy.

Advertising reservations are commitments to broadcasters and are tracked by AdImpact, not by the Federal Election Commission. They are a different measure from the independent expenditures reported in Section VII and the two figures do not reconcile.

On Sept. 13, 2026, Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, posted a photo on X of University of Texas fans celebrating the Longhorns’ win over Ohio State with the caption “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.” Sen. John Cornyn, whom Paxton defeated in the May runoff, wrote: “This is the Republican nominee for statewide office. Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized.” (Cornyn, Sept. 13, 2026). House Speaker Dustin Burrows and Gov. Greg Abbott also distanced themselves from the post.

Talarico asked Paxton on X: “Will you condemn this blatant racism or will you cower to extremists?” (Talarico, Sept. 13, 2026). Paxton’s statement said he condemns “racism in all of its forms” without referring to French’s post and turned to criticizing Talarico. Politico reported that Paxton, asked for comment, “responded ... by attacking his Democratic opponent” and did not mention French. The Texas Tribune noted Paxton has previously said French would be “a great Railroad Commissioner.”

The New York Times reported on Sept. 22, 2026 that Cornyn hosted a fundraiser the previous evening in Dallas for six Republican Senate nominees in battleground states, with Bush listed on the invitation as a “special guest.” The event and the new joint fundraising committee, Maintain the Majority, benefit candidates in Maine, Ohio, Alaska, Iowa, Michigan and New Hampshire. Paxton, the Republican nominee in Texas, was not a beneficiary. The host committee included Harriet Miers, Bush’s onetime nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court; former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison; and Republican donor Harlan Crow. Contributions between $1,000 and $61,500 were required for entry, according to the invitation. The Times reported that some donors invited to the event have also contributed to Paxton’s campaign.

ABC News reported that GOP Senate nominees Michael Whatley of North Carolina and Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia were also left out, and that some Republican operatives regard those two races as slipping out of reach. ABC News reported it had sought comment from the Paxton campaign, Bush’s spokesperson and Cornyn’s office. Cornyn, whom Paxton defeated in the May runoff, has said he plans to support the Republican ticket in November but has no plans to campaign for Paxton.

Paxton defeated Bush’s nephew, George P. Bush, in the 2022 Republican primary for attorney general. The Times noted that Karl Rove, Bush’s former senior adviser, said the previous week that he would not vote for Bo French (see File No. 26-Sen-French, Sept. 13, 2026), and that Trump called Rove a “stone-cold loser” on Truth Social.

On Sept. 22, 2026, Punchbowl News and The Texas Tribune both reported that Texas PAC — the super PAC affiliated with the Senate Leadership Fund, the group aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune — had increased its Texas television commitment past $100 million. The two accounts describe the increment differently: the Tribune reported an additional $30 million on top of nearly $70 million already spent, while Punchbowl reported more than $35 million added to $65 million already booked. Both put the resulting total at more than $100 million. This is a further escalation of the buy recorded at File No. 26-Sen-TexasPAC (Sept. 11, 2026).

The Tribune reported that total Republican spending in the general election has reached over $140 million with six weeks until the election, including over $19 million from Lone Star Liberty PAC and over $16 million from MAGA Inc. It reported that in September alone Texas PAC spent nearly $66 million against approximately $22 million for Talarico, and that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Senate Majority PAC have not committed advertising funds to Texas. Talarico received about $3 million in outside support in September from Lone Star Rising PAC.

Advertising reservations are commitments to broadcasters, not expenditures reported to the Federal Election Commission. They are a different measure from the independent expenditures in Section VII and the two figures do not reconcile.

The Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center at Texas Southern University surveyed 1,800 likely voters between Sept. 15 and Sept. 19, 2026, with a margin of error of ±2.3 percentage points. Talarico drew 47%, Paxton 46%, Libertarian Ted Brown 3%, and 4% were undecided. Because the one-point difference is smaller than the margin of error, the poll does not establish a lead for either candidate.

The party-consolidation split is wider than the margin of error. 99% of Democrats said they planned to vote for Talarico. Among Republicans, 84% said they would vote for Paxton, 7% for Talarico, 4% for Brown, and 5% were undecided. Among voters planning to vote for Gov. Greg Abbott, 93% said they would vote for Paxton. Both candidates were viewed net-unfavorably: Talarico 47% favorable to 50% unfavorable, Paxton 43% favorable to 55% unfavorable.

A single poll is a snapshot, not a result. This entry records one survey’s findings and does not characterize the state of the race.

Speaking at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 24, 2026, Talarico challenged Paxton to a debate moderated by Bret Baier of Fox News. “Texans deserve to make an informed choice in this really critical race, so I’m challenging Ken Paxton to a game on his own turf,” Talarico said (Sept. 24, 2026). KXAN reported that the challenge followed Talarico’s criticism of Paxton for not accepting invitations from Nexstar, WFAA and Hearst/NBC/Telemundo.

On Sept. 29, 2026, a Fox News spokesperson said the network would host the debate if both nominees commit: “Debates best serve voters and the democratic process when both candidates participate and voters have the opportunity to compare positions on the issues. We will move forward with the debate if both candidates commit to appearing” (Fox News statement, Sept. 29, 2026). The Houston Chronicle reported that Paxton had not accepted any debate as of that day and that his campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

In July 2026, after Talarico accepted three televised debate invitations from Texas media groups, the Paxton campaign said, “of course we are going to debate James Talarico,” and senior adviser Nick Maddux said, “We look forward to engaging with potential debate hosts.” The Texas Tribune reported on Sept. 24 that Paxton had committed to no debate, citing WFAA’s Sept. 22 report that the Paxton campaign had not responded to the station’s messages since Aug. 24. The Chronicle reported that every Texas U.S. Senate race since 2002 has included at least one debate.

This follows File No. 26-Sen-Debate (Sept. 3, 2026), which recorded the fourth debate invitation Paxton had not accepted.

According to The New York Times, the audio was recorded at a private fundraiser on Sept. 24, 2026 before a small group of conservative lobbyists and donors. An attendee asked, “Do you feel like he’s a little bit of a drag?” Paxton answered: “So to be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers. Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good” (Sept. 24, 2026, as published Sept. 30). The Times reported the recording was provided by an attendee who opposes Paxton’s campaign and was granted anonymity; three other people confirmed Paxton was at the event, and two recalled the remark. CBS News noted it had not independently verified the audio. Listen at The New York Times

Paxton senior adviser Nick Maddux said in a statement (Sept. 30, 2026): “This is more manipulated nonsense from the New York Times to create a story that doesn’t exist. Every serious pollster will tell you that our numbers have improved since early September.” ABC News asked the campaign whether it was claiming the audio had been altered; the campaign did not respond.

Trump had pushed the Republican Party to hold its first midterm convention in Dallas on Sept. 9, 2026, where he endorsed Paxton from the stage. “The convention really helped Ken Paxton,” Trump told reporters on Sept. 13, 2026. “He was a big part of it.” Asked about the recording in the Oval Office on Sept. 30, Trump said he had not heard it.

Trump spoke on Oct. 1, 2026 at the Peterbilt Motors truck plant in Denton, a visit billed around tariffs and manufacturing, and used it to campaign for Paxton. Praising Paxton’s loyalty during his own legal troubles, Trump said Paxton was “at my side more than anybody,” then said: “And I have to always remember that because he could be a pain in the ass sometimes. I’ll be honest” (Oct. 1, 2026). He called Paxton the “greatest attorney general in the United States of America” and referred to Talarico as “a freako.” The Texas Tribune reported that Paxton attended but that Trump was the only elected official to speak.

Trump did not address the recording published by The New York Times the previous day (File No. 26-Sen-Recording), in which Paxton told donors the Dallas midterm convention had “dropped our numbers.” Asked about it in the Oval Office on Sept. 30, Trump had said he had not heard it.

On Sept. 30, Paxton did not attend Vice President JD Vance’s rally in Harlingen for a Republican congressional candidate. Vance said from the stage, “I’ve got to send my best to a couple of patriots who could not be here with us today,” naming Gov. Greg Abbott and “the amazing Attorney General and your next senator, Ken Paxton” (Sept. 30, 2026). A Paxton spokesperson said he could not attend because of a rally in El Paso.

Trump returned to Texas on Oct. 7 for a rally in San Antonio with Paxton and congressional candidate Carlos De La Cruz, his third Texas trip in a month after the Sept. 9 convention and the Denton stop (File No. 26-Sen-SanAntonio).

The ad, released Oct. 3, 2026, is paid for by Texas PAC, the super PAC affiliated with Senate Republican leadership that is the largest outside spender in the race (see File No. 26-Sen-SLF-100M and Section VII). In it, state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, says: “People have asked my thoughts about this election, and turns out, I have some. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. In a general election, it’s not as much about the individual players on the team. It’s about getting the whole team across the finish line. Either we hold every Republican seat, or we hand the future of Texas to the other team. That’s why I’m voting for the Republican ticket on Nov. 3. Let’s hold the line together” (Texas PAC ad, Oct. 3, 2026). Ken Paxton is not named.

Angela Paxton filed for divorce in July 2025 after 38 years of marriage, citing “biblical grounds”; her petition alleged adultery (see the Exhibits). In 2023 she sat through her husband’s impeachment trial as a senator barred from voting. CNN reported that in a Sept. 18, 2026 speech to Republican women she had likewise urged support for Republican candidates even where voters had reservations, without naming him.

This entry records a paid advertisement and who paid for it. It does not characterize the marriage or the divorce beyond what is in the public filing.

All of the clips come from the same event: a Sept. 24, 2026 lunch for Paxton on Capitol Hill hosted by Susan Hirschmann and Chris Brinson of the lobbying firm Williams & Jensen, attended by roughly a dozen people, mostly lobbyists. According to The Texas Tribune, the recording was made by an attendee who opposes Paxton, who has released it in pieces and declined to share the full conversation; two other attendees confirmed details to the Tribune. The campaign has not claimed the audio is altered.

Oct. 5 (Politico). Paxton, who ran his primary as a Washington outsider, said: “I don’t control message or what we’re doing. I’ve never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign and, like, what issues are going to matter because it’s all coming — you know — from DC” (Sept. 24, 2026, as published Oct. 5). Senior adviser Nick Maddux told Politico that Paxton was referring to super PACs: “Campaigns don’t coordinate with super PACs, and that’s obviously what AG Paxton was referring to.” Politico said it had independently verified the recording. Listen at Politico

Oct. 7 (Axios). Asked what was weighing on the campaign, Paxton pointed to the war with Iran and fuel costs, saying higher fuel prices drive up “food prices and everything else,” that “people are feeling the pinch,” and that unaffordability is “by far our biggest problem” and “why we’re having a hard time with numbers.” He added: “So many factors in this federal race are uncontrollable. I don’t make the decisions, and I don’t … know what’s behind some of the decisions” (as published Oct. 7, 2026). A campaign spokesperson told Axios: “This is a non-story. The Attorney General said what every Texan already knows: gas and diesel prices are too high.” The clip was published the morning of Trump’s San Antonio rally for Paxton; Trump did not mention it on stage (File No. 26-Sen-SanAntonio). Listen at Axios

Oct. 8 (The Texas Tribune). On the deficit, Paxton said: “There’s no doubt we have to cut some of the mandatory spending. The numbers don’t add up,” and, “Making some reasonable cuts to mandatory spending — you’re gonna have to do it. Or there is no solution. That’s just the reality. We have to suck it up” (as published Oct. 8, 2026). He did not say which programs or by how much; Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid make up roughly three-quarters of mandatory spending, per the Congressional Budget Office. The Tribune reported that Paxton “has rarely discussed his position on entitlements on the campaign trail” Paxton said in a statement: “We have to solve the national debt while keeping the promises we made to everyone who paid into these programs. … I have never said I would take away entitlements from those who deserve or earned them” (Oct. 8, 2026). Listen at The Texas Tribune

Oct. 9 (CNN). In a fifth clip, asked about Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Paxton said he did not “know how much she really affects votes … maybe a little bit around the margins, just like Cornyn, basically how much he affects me,” then said of Sen. John Cornyn: “He’s clearly not helping. He wants me to lose” (Sept. 24, 2026, as published Oct. 9). He recounted an encounter he said a friend had with Cornyn at a Dallas restaurant, in which, by Paxton’s account, Cornyn said: “Paxton’s gonna lose. We need to teach those Republicans a lesson. It’s going to be hard to learn, but they need to know that their decisions have consequences.” Cornyn strategist Rob Jesmer told CNN the restaurant conversation did not happen: “If Sen. Cornyn wanted Ken to lose, I can assure you he’d be more active in the campaign.” CNN said it had not independently confirmed Paxton’s account. Senior adviser Nick Maddux called the recording “a story that doesn’t exist” and said Paxton “has called, texted, and offered to have a conversation with Senator Cornyn.” Cornyn has not endorsed Paxton; in September he and former President George W. Bush headlined a Dallas fundraiser for six Senate Republican candidates that did not include Paxton. Listen at CNN

Trump spoke at Freeman Coliseum on the evening of Oct. 7, 2026, his third Texas appearance for Paxton after the Sept. 9 Dallas convention and the Oct. 1 Denton stop (File No. 26-Sen-Denton). Of Paxton he said, “He was tough and he was with us all the way. He’s a fantastic man,” and, inviting him to the stage, “I’m very proud of him and I think he’s gonna be an unbelievable senator” (Oct. 7, 2026). He described Paxton as “perhaps the greatest attorney general in the United States of America.” The Associated Press reported that Trump “made no mention” of the leaked recordings in which Paxton blamed the Iran war and fuel prices and said his campaign was being run from Washington (File No. 26-Sen-Recording-II). CNN reported he did not repeat the “pain in the ass” remark from Denton. He attacked Talarico repeatedly, including the claim that Talarico is a vegan, which Talarico has denied.

Paxton, called up near the end of the rally, said, “I am so grateful that you’re here,” and asked the crowd, “Aren’t you guys glad he came to San Antonio?” He then led a chant of “Where is Talarico?”, asserting that the Democrat had not been seen campaigning in Texas for 11 days (Oct. 7, 2026). Talarico’s campaign told Fox News he had been sick with the flu and would return to the trail that weekend. Talarico had announced the diagnosis on Sept. 30 and canceled at least two Texas events that week.

Gov. Greg Abbott did not attend, citing scheduling conflicts, as he had not attended the Denton event. At least a dozen protesters interrupted the speech and were removed by police. Trump also used the appearance to restate his earlier remark about Iran striking Los Angeles or San Diego, adding, “We’re not going to let that happen.”

In a Truth Social post after the Oct. 7, 2026 rally (File No. 26-Sen-SanAntonio), Trump called Talarico “MISSING IN ACTION” and wrote: “He should immediately report to a Debate Stage against Ken Paxton, who is ready, willing and able, one of the best Attorney Generals in the Country” (Oct. 7, 2026). Talarico, who has accepted invitations from CNN, Hearst, Nexstar and WFAA and in late September challenged Paxton to a Fox News debate (File No. 26-Sen-Debate), posted on X on Oct. 8: “President Trump just said Ken Paxton should debate. I agree. Ball’s in your court @KenPaxtonTX.”

Paxton’s campaign did not respond to The Texas Tribune’s or KXAN’s requests for comment on the debate. Campaign spokesperson Madison Cercy instead said: “We have a simple request: proof of life. James Talarico wants to represent 31 million Texans in the U.S. Senate, but for 12 days, he’s hidden from every one of them. … If James Talarico is too fragile to face Texans, he has no business asking for their vote” (Oct. 8, 2026). The campaign asked for a photo of Talarico with a newspaper dated that day. Talarico announced a flu diagnosis on Sept. 30, has not held an in-person Texas event since Sept. 26, and attended a New York fundraiser on Sept. 29, the night before he said he visited urgent care in Dallas; his campaign said he would return to the trail that weekend. Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis said Talarico had held “more than 100 public events” and that Paxton “has been ignoring Texans this entire campaign.”

The Tribune reported that Paxton did not debate his opponents in any of his three campaigns for attorney general, and that a Paxton spokesperson said in July 2026, “of course we’re going to debate.” As of Oct. 8, the candidates had not appeared on stage together. Early voting begins Oct. 19.

Talarico returned to the trail on Oct. 9, 2026 with an unannounced appearance at the Austin City Limits festival in Zilker Park, his first public appearance since the Sept. 30 virtual event; The Texas Tribune counted the absence at nine days, NBC 5 and Fox News at twelve from his last in-person Texas event on Sept. 26. In the interval, Paxton’s campaign had demanded “proof of life,” promoted missing-person posters of Talarico and launched what it called a “Tala-Freak-Out Tip Line” for sightings; spokesperson Madison Cercy said in a statement on Oct. 8: “Low-T Jimmy appears to be having a full-blown mental Tala-freak-out on the national stage.” Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis posted on Oct. 9: “Hate to disappoint the conspiracy theorists, but James is still alive and meeting with voters at ACL today.” As of Oct. 9 Paxton had not responded to Trump’s call for a debate. The rumor that grew from this absence is at File No. 26-Sen-Rumor.

ProPublica and The Texas Tribune reviewed DPS logs for Paxton’s security detail and the attorney general’s office’s own records, including airfare and lodging receipts, per diems and his daily calendars, obtained under the Public Information Act. Since taking office in 2015 Paxton has taken nearly 1,000 trips with a state-funded detail, to 36 states and 19 countries, at a security cost of $3.3 million. The newsrooms could connect 138 of those trips and $553,000 in security costs to state business. Records showing a business purpose “do not appear to exist in most cases.” In 2025, 5 of 91 trips had a listed purpose; 41 were out of state. Texas law allows DPS to protect the attorney general but does not require him to use the detail, and Paxton has travelled on official business without it at least two dozen times (ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, Oct. 9, 2026).

By comparison, Greg Abbott’s security as attorney general cost $203,000 over his last three years, $7,400 a month adjusted for inflation; Paxton’s has averaged $24,300 a month. Paxton has taken 82 more out-of-state trips with a detail than Abbott and nearly as many as the governor and lieutenant governor combined. Two of his 25 international trips have a listed business purpose, against more than two-thirds of the governor’s. During his 2023 impeachment suspension, when he was barred from official business, he took at least 17 trips with the detail, including to Park City, Utah and Vail, Colorado.

Some of the travel overlaps with places where Paxton or his family’s blind trust later bought property. The detail logged Lahaina, Hawaii as the destination of a June 2021 trip; four months later the trust bought a lot there for $410,000, now assessed at $1.2 million. Paxton has visited the Salt Lake City area 19 times, twice on listed business, including three visits before the trust’s July 2021 purchase of a lot in Eden, Utah for $315,000 in cash. He visited St. George, Utah during his suspension and bought four condominiums at a resort there in 2025 and 2026 with $1.9 million in mortgages. Florida, where he and the trust own three properties, is his most-visited state at 53 trips, two with a documented purpose. State officials said there is no record of Paxton or his campaign reimbursing Texas for security costs.

The newsrooms sent Paxton a spreadsheet of the trips with no recorded state purpose and asked for any records showing otherwise. Neither Paxton nor his office provided any. His office said in a statement: “Throughout his career, Ken Paxton has faced numerous security threats stemming from his courageous work as Attorney General … Those threats are a direct result of him taking on the cartels terrorizing Texans” (Oct. 9, 2026). DPS declined to comment on its security arrangements.

On Oct. 3, 2026 the Associated Press reported from a separate records review that Paxton had left about 730 workdays blank on his official calendars since 2015 and taken more than 275 out-of-state trips, at a minimum of $1.9 million in security-detail expenses, including a stay in Augusta, Georgia during the Masters, costing at least $25,000, in the week he announced his Senate run on Fox News. Blank workdays rose from more than 90 in 2021 to 112 in 2024. His office told the AP the threats he faces stem from “his courageous work … fighting on behalf of the people of Texas.”

Talarico announced a flu diagnosis on Sept. 30, 2026 and made no in-person appearance between Oct. 1 and Oct. 8 (File No. 26-Sen-Debate-II). On Oct. 8, as Paxton’s campaign demanded “proof of life,” a conservative influencer posted that she had “unverified information on James Talarico’s whereabouts”; The Dallas Morning News counted more than 5.7 million views. The same day Paxton posted a mock “WANTED” poster of Talarico reading “Use caution when approaching!” (Oct. 8, 2026). The Texas Tribune reported that Paxton’s campaign released ads calling Talarico “mentally fragile,” that Paxton posted that his opponent was “having a full-blown mental Tala-freak-out on the national stage,” and that the campaign set up a “Tala-Freak-Out Tip Line” for reports of his whereabouts.

On Oct. 10 a Republican fundraiser posted a private jet’s flight path from Austin to Hamilton, Ohio, about 20 miles from the Lindner Center of Hope, a private inpatient mental-health facility in Mason, Ohio. That evening an influencer who describes himself as a “right-wing provocateur” called the center posing as a relative; on Oct. 11 he and a second influencer posted a short audio clip they said proved Talarico had “just been discharged.” Talarico had been at the Austin City Limits festival on Oct. 9 and a Dallas concert on Oct. 10. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller posted about the story more than a dozen times in four days, and Elon Musk, who has funded a super PAC supporting Paxton, reposted the audio, per the Tribune and FactCheck.org.

Michelle Smith, a senior adviser to Paxton, wrote on Oct. 11 that a friend’s doctor had confirmed Talarico “has definitely been admitted to a mental institution.” Asked about that claim, Paxton spokesperson Madison Cercy said the campaign was “not going to speculate about anyone’s health” (Oct. 2026). The Tribune noted that Paxton himself did not share the audio.

The Lindner Center of Hope wrote on Oct. 11, 2026: “Representative James Talarico has never received treatment from Lindner Center of Hope.” Talarico reposted it, adding, “I’ve never even been to Ohio.” His spokesperson JT Ennis called the audio “a lie designed to promote a pathetic conspiracy theory.” The Associated Press and The Dallas Morning News published fact checks on Oct. 12 finding the claim false; FactCheck.org did the same on Oct. 13. The New York Times reported on Oct. 12 that it had reviewed the campaign’s home security footage showing Talarico at his Austin home between Oct. 1 and Oct. 8. Paxton’s office declined to comment to the Tribune after the denials.

The Journal reported that details of the Dec. 31, 2024 gathering “were contained in court filings and confirmed by people familiar with the matter,” and that the video shows Paxton on a high-rise balcony shortly after midnight on Jan. 1, 2025 (WSJ, Oct. 12, 2026). KSAT reported that the Journal identified one man in the video as Sameer Suhail and that Journal reporter Elizabeth Findell said it also shows Anosh Ahmed.

According to a federal indictment unsealed in July 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Ahmed, Suhail and a third defendant are charged in a 41-count indictment alleging a scheme to defraud a Chicago hospital of more than $15 million through false vendor payments; Ahmed had been the hospital’s chief financial officer. Ahmed was later charged separately in an alleged fraudulent COVID-19 testing scheme. Both men left the United States before charges were brought and lived in Dubai while the cases were pending, Block Club Chicago reported. Both have since returned: Ahmed is in custody, and Suhail’s attorney told the Journal that civil matters in Dubai affected his ability to travel and that he returned voluntarily once they were resolved. The two were arraigned in Chicago on Oct. 13, 2026 and pleaded not guilty. The charges are allegations; neither man has been convicted.

Campaign-finance records reviewed by the Journal show Ahmed, who is from Houston, donated a total of $190,000 to Paxton, including $25,000 in July 2024, days after prosecutors unsealed the indictment.

Paxton’s campaign did not directly address the trip. Senior adviser Nick Maddux said in a statement to the Journal: “Like President Trump, Ken Paxton has been politically persecuted for years, and every time, voters have seen through it and sent him back to office because they know he has always fought for Texas” (Oct. 12, 2026). Talarico wrote on X: “A party with multiple fugitives and Ken Paxton is still the sketchiest guy in the room” (Oct. 13, 2026). None of the reporting alleges that Paxton intervened in either man’s case.

The Fort Worth audience included about 20 Texas Democrats, 20 independents and 20 Republicans, several of whom questioned Talarico directly, The Texas Tribune reported. CNN said Paxton was invited to participate and did not respond; The Dallas Morning News reported that CNN had also offered Paxton a town hall of his own and had not heard back. The Tribune counted five televised debate invitations Paxton has not agreed to, including the Fox News debate the network agreed to host on Sept. 29 (File No. 26-Sen-Debate-Fox). Paxton told Fox News the campaigns could not agree on details; Talarico replied on X, “Here are the details: literally any time, any place, any network” (Oct. 2026).

Talarico did not name Paxton until the final minutes. “You may have noticed that I haven’t talked about my opponent at all tonight because I don’t want people to vote … just against Ken Paxton. I want them to vote for me,” he said, then: “We have an opportunity in this race not just to defeat the most corrupt politician in Texas; we have an opportunity to defeat this entire corrupt system” (Oct. 14, 2026). He said that “since taking office, Ken Paxton has increased his net worth by $27 million. He now owns 15 homes, while most Texans can’t afford one”; the figures are Talarico’s characterization of Paxton’s financial disclosures (see File No. 26-Sen-Disclosure), and Paxton has denied wrongdoing. Asked about his absence from the trail, Talarico said he had “a nasty case of the flu” and called the online theories about it a distraction (File No. 26-Sen-Rumor).

During the broadcast Paxton posted short clips of Talarico’s past statements on X, wrote that the Democrat backs “the most radical policies imaginable,” and said, “We can’t afford his war on Texas energy” (Oct. 14, 2026). The same day Paxton’s campaign announced an 18-day “Come and Take It” bus tour of more than 30 stops, opening in Rockwall on Oct. 17 and ending at the Alamo on Nov. 2, the eve of Election Day. Early voting runs Oct. 19–30.

Until Oct. 15, 2026, Texas PAC’s only reported source of funds was transfers from its parent, the Senate Leadership Fund, which is aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune. SLF’s quarterly report, reviewed by The Texas Tribune and CBS News, lists two contributions from Musk: $75 million received Sept. 9 and $83 million received about two weeks later. FEC filings show SLF disbursed matching amounts to Texas PAC the day after each. SLF executive director Alex Latcham told Bloomberg TV on Oct. 14: “Thanks to some generous investors who have dedicated money to an affiliate, Texas PAC, we’ve been able to go in and support Ken Paxton. … We’ll spend nearly $200 million in that race.”

The Tribune reported, citing a person familiar with the conversations, that Musk’s political team approached SLF to voice concern about Paxton’s standing, leading first to a smaller arrangement in which Musk would give $10 million to Lone Star Liberty PAC if SLF gave $5 million and the PAC raised another $5 million. Lone Star Liberty PAC had about $35,000 on hand at the end of June after the primary. Musk’s own America PAC has also spent against Talarico; its figures appear in the donor section below as they are filed. SLF had backed Cornyn in the primary and estimated that a Paxton nomination would cost $150 million to $200 million to hold the seat. Paxton has not commented publicly on Musk’s support. In 2022 and 2024, as attorney general, Paxton opened investigations into Twitter’s bot counts and into an advertisers’ group, in each case on questions Musk was raising at the time.

The post, published the afternoon of Oct. 15, 2026, read in part: “Sadly, and very stupidly, John Cornyn, and his Liddle’ Buddy, Super RINO, Karl Rove, are doing everything possible to make it hard for Ken Paxton, the Greatest Attorney General in the History of Texas, and one of the Best in the United States, to win the upcoming Midterm Election” (Trump, Oct. 15, 2026). It continued: “John Cornyn who, after my Endorsement, lost the Primary to Ken by a very wide margin, and Karl Rove, who shouldn’t be allowed to spew his jealousy on FoxNews, should be ashamed of themselves,” and asked Cornyn’s supporters to “UNITE, and immediately switch your support to Ken Paxton.” Trump did not say what either man had done, and did not mention the leaked fundraiser recordings (File Nos. 26-Sen-Recording, 26-Sen-Recording-II).

The Tribune noted that Cornyn has not endorsed Paxton, said in August he would not move money toward Paxton’s campaign, and described Paxton as lazy and a “poor campaigner.” Rove, a Fox News contributor and Wall Street Journal columnist, has argued that Paxton’s scandals gave Talarico an opening in a state that last elected a Democrat statewide in 1994. Neither Cornyn nor Rove had publicly responded as of Oct. 17, per Chron.

In the Chamber’s release, chief policy officer Neil Bradley said Paxton “has been a defender of free enterprise,” and added: “Paxton understands that true economic prosperity relies on a fair and predictable justice system. We look forward to working together on meaningful legal reform that shields job creators from lawsuit abuse and red tape” (Oct. 18, 2026). Bloomberg Government described the Chamber as the nation’s largest business lobby. The Chamber’s Feb. 9, 2026 endorsement of Cornyn, also issued by Bradley, remains on its site; The Hill noted that the Chamber has challenged the Trump administration’s tariffs in court.

The Harris County figure was confirmed by the County Clerk’s office and reported by KPRC; the Dallas County figure was reported by County Judge Clay Jenkins and carried by FOX 4, which put the 2024 first-day total at 56,431 and the 2018 total at 59,388. Both are unofficial first-day counts. In 2024, more than 8.6 million Texans voted early in person statewide, per The Dallas Morning News. Paxton’s campaign said its tour would make more than 30 stops and end at the Alamo on Nov. 2; at the Rockwall launch, Paxton said, “We will be out working, but we need your prayers” (Oct. 17, 2026). In Houston on Oct. 20 he said, “I’m asking you to look at my record and compare that with a guy named James Talarico.” Talarico, whose tour takes its name from Friday Night Lights, said, “Texans are tired of being divided into teams … That’s why we’re traveling across the state to unite working people onto one team” (Oct. 17, 2026). As of Oct. 19 the candidates had still not appeared on stage together (File No. 26-Sen-Debate-II).

Talarico's campaign has run heavily on Paxton's record — the 2023 impeachment, the felony indictments, the $6.6M whistleblower judgment — framing him as corrupt and unfit for federal office. Cook Political Report moved the race from “Lean Republican” to “Toss Up” on Aug. 20, 2026 (File No. 26-Sen-Rating). Early voting runs Oct. 19–30 (File No. 26-Sen-EarlyVote).