Talarico attacks Paxton as corruption debate defines Texas Senate race

James Talarico opened his general-election Senate campaign in Houston by turning Ken Paxton’s latest scandal coverage into a broader attack on corruption and the cost of living. Before about 1,000 supporters, the Austin Democrat said, “In America, we have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis,” and his campaign unveiled the banner “THE PEOPLE vs. KEN PAXTON.”

The timing was deliberate. Talarico launched on May 27, 2026, the day after Paxton defeated John Cornyn in the Republican runoff, and on the third anniversary of Paxton’s 2023 impeachment in the Texas Legislature, when he was accused of using his office to benefit a wealthy donor. Paxton was later acquitted on all 20 articles of impeachment, but the case added to a record that already included a 2015 felony securities-fraud indictment, bribery and corruption allegations, and a federal corruption probe.

Talarico’s bet is that Paxton’s legal baggage can be recast as a kitchen-table issue rather than a tabloid story. At the Houston launch, he called Paxton “the most corrupt politician in America,” drawing a direct line between ethics scandals and rising prices that have made Texas households feel squeezed. That framing matters in a state where Democrats have struggled to win statewide offices for three decades and have not won a U.S. Senate race since 1988.

The money race has given Talarico room to make that case. NBC News reported that he had raised more than $40 million by late May, including $600,000 in the two hours after Paxton’s runoff victory. Paxton, by contrast, had raised $7.6 million and held $2.3 million in cash on hand as of May 6. One Republican consultant estimated that defending Paxton in the general election could cost as much as $150 million, on top of more than $120 million already spent in the primary.

Early polling suggests Talarico’s message is landing with at least some voters. A June 30 New York Times-Siena poll found the two men tied at 47 percent among likely voters, even as Texans favored Republican control of the Senate by 50 percent to 44 percent. The same survey gave Talarico a sharp edge on character, with 56 percent saying he has good character compared with 31 percent for Paxton, and 51 percent saying Talarico has the right moral values, versus 35 percent for Paxton.

Paxton is leaning on a familiar defense, arguing that accusations do not prove wrongdoing and casting the scrutiny as political persecution. He has long survived scandals that would likely end other careers, but the Texas race now tests whether repeated ethics charges still matter in a polarized state, or whether Talarico can turn them into a broader indictment of power, prices and the people who pay for both.