Nobody Owns Your Vote

Current race · Side-by-side hiring file

Compare Paxton and Talarico under the same standard.

This is one evidence-first place to compare the two major-party nominees for Texas’s U.S. Senate seat as people asking for public power. It shows what the reviewed record supports, what kind of source supports it, and what remains unknown.

Evidence checked
Method
The same hiring-test questions for both candidates.
Verdict
No score, endorsement, or automatic conclusion.

This file compares the Republican and Democratic nominees, not every ballot choice; Libertarian Ted Brown appears in one cited poll and is not profiled here. It is a research guide, not a substitute for your judgment. Official records, reporting, campaign claims, allegations, and interpretation are labeled differently because they are not interchangeable.

How to read this comparison

Equal standards do not require pretending the records are identical. They require asking the same questions and describing different evidence with the same care.

Start with public records

Official records establish offices held, bills, filings, court outcomes, and formal proceedings.

Label campaign claims

Campaign pages show what candidates promise and how they describe themselves—not independent proof.

Keep legal outcomes distinct

An allegation, acquittal, dismissal, civil judgment, and administrative finding each mean something different.

Leave room for unknowns

A missing source is a research gap, not proof that nothing happened or that a claim is false.

Candidate snapshot

These short introductions identify the candidates and the experience they bring. The comparison below does the harder work.

Democratic nominee · Official record and campaign description

James Talarico

Talarico is a former public school teacher first elected to the Texas House in 2018. His campaign centers working people, corruption, and concentrated power. [7] [4]

His record offers state legislative experience and enacted bills, but no federal or statewide executive service.

Republican nominee · Official record and campaign description

Ken Paxton

Paxton has served as Texas attorney general since 2015 after service in the Texas House and Senate. His campaign centers President Trump’s agenda, border enforcement, conservative social policy, and lower taxes. [8] [5]

His record offers long statewide executive and litigation experience, but no federal legislative service.

The side-by-side hiring test

Each row uses the same question. The fourth column names the limit of the reviewed evidence instead of filling the gap with confidence.

Evidence reviewed through July 26, 2026. Citations open the full source list below. On narrow screens, scroll the table horizontally.
Hiring criterion James Talarico Ken Paxton What remains uncertain
Public service and experience What work have they done, and how closely does it match the job they want?

Official public record

Talarico is a former San Antonio middle-school teacher first elected to the Texas House in 2018. The official House biography describes education, health, and juvenile-justice work. He has state legislative experience, but no federal or statewide executive record. [7]

Official public record

Paxton served in the Texas House and Senate before becoming attorney general in January 2015. His office says he leads more than 4,000 employees across 38 divisions and 117 offices. He has long statewide executive and litigation experience, but no federal legislative record. [8]

Official biographies describe the institutions’ own work. They do not independently measure constituent service, management quality, or readiness for every federal responsibility.
Honesty Do public claims and the documented record stay aligned when the facts become inconvenient?

Campaign claim and outside context

Talarico campaigns against super PACs, corporate PACs, and dark money. Outside reporting also documents billionaire and undisclosed-donor support for a legally independent pro-Talarico super PAC. His campaign says it does not coordinate with the group and will not unilaterally disarm under current rules. [13] [14]

Official finding and completed outcomes

A 2014 agreed state order found that Paxton solicited investment clients for compensation while unregistered and imposed a reprimand and fine. Later criminal securities charges ended without a plea after a pretrial agreement; prosecutors said he completed its terms and the charges were dismissed in 2025. [26] [22] [23]

These records raise different questions and do not prove a complete character verdict about either person. A broader truthfulness audit would need a systematic review of speeches, ads, votes, and corrections.
Use of power How have they used public authority, and what limits do they accept?

Official proposal and campaign position

Talarico filed a proposed Texas constitutional amendment for an independent citizen redistricting commission. His Senate campaign also proposes voting-access, stock-trading, ethics, town-hall, and term-limit changes. The proposal did not become law, and the campaign commitments are not completed results. [9] [14]

Official litigation and campaign position

In 2020, Paxton asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let Texas challenge presidential-election results in four other states; the Court denied leave for lack of standing. His Senate campaign says he would champion President Trump’s agenda, including immigration enforcement and ending what it calls government weaponization. [29] [6]

Filing a bill or lawsuit is not the same as achieving a durable result. This comparison does not catalog every vote, legal action, or institutional check involving either candidate.
Corruption and campaign finance Who funds the campaign, what outside support exists, and what does the record actually prove?

FEC record and outside reporting

The FEC candidate record showed about $68.6 million in receipts and $21.5 million cash through June 30. The Texas Tribune reported that 51% of his broader fundraising came from people whose cumulative contributions were under $200, while a billionaire- and dark-money-backed super PAC has also spent independently to support him. [10] [12] [13]

FEC record and outside reporting

The FEC candidate record showed about $9.25 million in receipts and $1.76 million cash through June 30. The Texas Tribune reported that 88% of contributions came from larger donors and that joint fundraising committees accounted for about 45% of the broader amount raised around his candidacy. [11] [12]

Campaign-finance totals change with new filings. Large donors, small donors, joint committees, and legally independent spending are context; none is proof by itself of a corrupt favor or illegal coordination.
Treatment of people How do their words and policies treat people with less power or people outside their coalition?

Current reporting

On a July border tour, Talarico said border communities should not be demonized while also proposing surveillance technology, more Border Patrol agents, and more immigration judges. At a Houston town hall, he stayed for additional questions and thanked a critic who challenged him sharply. [15] [19]

Candidate-stated position and current reporting

Paxton’s campaign backs expanded deportations, completing the border wall, abortion restrictions, and restrictions involving transgender participation in girls’ sports and LGBTQ-related school content. His campaign uses deliberately combative language to describe those positions and his opponent. [6] [15]

One town hall, one campaign page, and selected reporting cannot establish a complete temperament judgment. The sources show words and proposals; voters must judge their human consequences.
Competence and results Can they turn priorities into durable, lawful results?

Enacted legislative record

Talarico was the lead House author of enacted legislation ending law-enforcement reality-program contracts and the House sponsor of an enacted insulin cost-sharing limit for certain state-regulated plans. Those are concrete bipartisan legislative results, but they do not test federal budgeting, national security, or Senate coalition building. [17] [18]

Executive result with outside context

Paxton’s office finalized a $1.375 billion privacy settlement with Google after state litigation. The Associated Press reported Google’s response that the agreement resolved older claims and required no product changes. It is a substantial recovery, while still being one part of a much larger management and litigation record. [27] [28]

Legislative sponsorship and executive settlements are different kinds of work. Neither record directly predicts how the candidate would legislate, oversee federal agencies, handle nominations, or deliver constituent services in the Senate.
Accountability What happens when they are challenged, investigated, or asked to answer for their side?

Campaign commitment and observed event

Talarico’s campaign promises annual town halls, congressional stock-trading restrictions, term limits, and stronger institutional ethics rules. A July Houston event provides one example of him taking extended critical questions. Promises and one event do not establish a complete accountability record. [14] [19]

Official proceedings and legal outcomes

The Texas House adopted 20 impeachment articles; the Senate acquitted Paxton on all 16 tried articles and dismissed four held in abeyance. A separate civil judgment found his office violated the whistleblower law after the office did not contest the evidence. A lawyer-discipline case later ended by nonsuit and was dismissed as moot without a merits ruling. [20] [21] [25] [24]

Allegations, acquittals, civil judgments, nonsuits, and campaign promises have different legal meanings. They should not be collapsed into a single label—or ignored because they are politically inconvenient.
Major policy positions What do they say they would do with a Senate vote?

Candidate-stated positions

Talarico’s platform proposes higher taxes on corporations and wealthy households, a Medicare buy-in option, public-school investment, voting and ethics reforms, legal pathways paired with border enforcement, reproductive-rights protections, and clean-energy expansion alongside oil and gas. [16] [30] [31] [32] [14] [33] [34]

Candidate-stated positions

Paxton’s platform emphasizes tax and spending cuts, energy deregulation, completing the border wall and deportations, gun rights, abortion restrictions, opposition to transgender policies, an America First foreign policy, action involving food and drug companies, and crypto-friendly regulation. [6]

Campaign pages are promises, not implementation plans or independent proof. Costs, legal routes, coalition support, tradeoffs, and issue areas omitted from either site still require review.

Polling snapshots, not predictions

Polls can explain why the race deserves attention. They cannot decide whether either candidate deserves the job.

The Texas Tribune reported on June 23, 2026 that a Texas Politics Project poll found Paxton leading Talarico 43% to 42%, within a 3.5-point margin of error. The ballot question also included Libertarian Ted Brown, so this was not a two-candidate test. [1]

Siena Research Institute posted a June 30 summary of a New York Times/Siena poll reporting a 47% to 47% tie. [2] The Washington Post reported that the poll included 656 likely Texas voters, 6% undecided, and a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. [3]

These are dated snapshots. New polling should be added only with field dates, sample information, sponsorship context, and uncertainty intact.

Evidence dossiers behind the comparison

The hiring file stays scannable. These deeper pages preserve detail, legal distinctions, research limits, and the source trail.

Use this page with independent voter tools

This page does not replace ballot information, neutral voter guides, or your own reading of the sources.

  • The Voter Hiring Test Use the full accountability checklist without giving either candidate an automatic pass.
  • VOTE411 Check ballot, registration, and voting-plan information from the League of Women Voters Education Fund.
  • Guides.vote Texas voter guides Read a separate nonpartisan comparison with its own source links.
  • Ballotpedia Look up election, candidate, and public-record background.
  • Vote Smart Review candidate records, issue positions, and election summaries.

Keep your vote in your own hands

The point is not to swap one team reflex for another. The point is to judge the job, check the evidence, and keep the power to say no.

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Sources and review limits

Every source below was checked on July 26, 2026. Official records are preferred for offices, bills, filings, formal findings, and legal outcomes. Campaign sources are used only for self-description and stated positions. Reporting supplies context and current developments.

This is not an exhaustive record of either person. Corrections, missing context, and stronger primary sources can be sent through the contact path in the Source Library.

Sources for this hiring file

  1. [1] · factThe Texas Tribune, "Ken Paxton and James Talarico are neck and neck in U.S. Senate race, new poll finds"

    Used for the June 23, 2026 report on one Texas Politics Project poll, including the 43% to 42% result, 3.5-point margin of error, the inclusion of Libertarian Ted Brown in the ballot question, and reported independent and moderate voter findings.

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  2. [2] · factSiena Research Institute, "New York Times/Siena Poll of Texas Voters"

    Used for the June 30, 2026 Siena summary of a New York Times/Siena poll reporting Talarico 47% and Paxton 47%, plus character and moral-values findings.

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  3. [3] · historical/current eventThe Washington Post, "Texas Senate race is dead even, poll finds"

    Used for reporting on the New York Times/Siena poll field dates, likely-voter sample, margin of sampling error, undecided share, and broader context.

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  4. [4] · candidate positionJames Talarico official campaign site

    Used only for the campaign self-description and stated campaign message.

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  5. [5] · candidate positionKen Paxton official campaign site

    Used only for campaign framing and self-description.

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  6. [6] · candidate positionKen Paxton official campaign issues page

    Used only for stated issue priorities on the campaign site.

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  7. [7] · factTexas House of Representatives, James Talarico biography

    Used for Talarico's teaching background, 2018 election to the Texas House, committee service, and the official House account of his legislative work. Accomplishment language is attributed to the official biography rather than treated as an independent performance rating.

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  8. [8] · factOffice of the Texas Attorney General, "About the Attorney General"

    Used for Paxton's tenure as attorney general, prior legislative service, the scale of the office, and the office's self-described responsibilities and results. Office-level output is not treated as solely attributable to one person.

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  9. [9] · factTexas Legislature Online, H.J.R. 4 history

    Used for Talarico's 2023 proposal to create an independent citizen redistricting commission and the proposal's legislative history.

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  10. [10] · factFederal Election Commission, James Talarico candidate overview

    Used as the live official record for Talarico's federal candidacy, authorized committee, receipts, spending, and cash through the latest posted filing period.

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  11. [11] · factFederal Election Commission, Ken Paxton candidate overview

    Used as the live official record for Paxton's federal candidacy, authorized committees, receipts, spending, and cash through the latest posted filing period.

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  12. [12] · historical/current eventThe Texas Tribune, "Follow the money pouring into the Texas U.S. Senate race"

    Used for the July 20, 2026 comparison of candidate fundraising, donor size, donor geography, joint fundraising committees, and outside spending. The figures are dated snapshots and can change with later filings.

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  13. [13] · historical/current eventThe Texas Tribune, "Here are the megadonors and dark money groups boosting James Talarico's anti-billionaire Senate bid"

    Used for reporting on billionaire and undisclosed-donor support for a pro-Talarico super PAC, the legal separation between that outside group and the campaign, and the campaign's response to the consistency question.

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  14. [14] · candidate positionJames Talarico campaign issue page, "Corruption & Democracy"

    Used only for Talarico's stated positions on campaign finance, redistricting, voting access, stock trading, town halls, term limits, and institutional ethics.

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  15. [15] · historical/current eventAssociated Press, "Talarico and Paxton duel over Texas border communities where Hispanics swung toward GOP"

    Used for July 2026 reporting on both candidates' border messages, Talarico's enforcement proposals, Paxton's emphasis on immigration lawsuits, and campaign rhetoric.

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  16. [16] · candidate positionJames Talarico official campaign issues index

    Used only to summarize the subjects covered by Talarico's stated Senate platform, not as independent proof that the proposals would work as described.

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  17. [17] · factTexas Legislature Online, H.B. 54 enrolled bill summary and history

    Used for Talarico's role as lead House author of enacted legislation prohibiting law-enforcement reality-program contracts.

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  18. [18] · factTexas Legislature Online, S.B. 827 history

    Used for Talarico's role as House sponsor of enacted legislation limiting insulin cost sharing in certain state-regulated health plans.

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  19. [19] · historical/current eventThe Texas Tribune, "Talarico pledges $25 million for Black voter outreach at sometimes tense Houston town hall"

    Used for one documented example of Talarico taking extended questions and responding to sharp public criticism. One event is not treated as a complete character judgment.

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  20. [20] · allegationTexas Legislature Online, H.R. No. 2377, Articles of Impeachment

    Used for the official text of the Texas House articles. The articles are allegations and impeachment charges, not proof of guilt.

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  21. [21] · factTexas Senate news release, "Paxton Acquitted"

    Used for the Senate-reported acquittal on all sixteen tried articles, dismissal of four held in abeyance, and the stated burden-of-proof context.

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  22. [22] · historical/current eventThe Texas Tribune, "Ken Paxton agrees to community service, paying restitution to avoid trial in securities fraud case"

    Used for the securities-fraud pretrial agreement, its terms, the lack of a required plea, and Paxton's denial of wrongdoing.

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  23. [23] · factBloomberg Law, "Paxton Felony Case Dropped After Restitution Paid, Hours Worked"

    Used for the June 2025 dismissal of three securities-fraud charges after prosecutors said Paxton completed the pretrial program requirements.

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  24. [24] · factSupreme Court of Texas, Paxton v. Commission for Lawyer Discipline, No. 24-0452

    Used for the Commission nonsuit, vacatur of the lower-court judgment and opinion, dismissal as moot, and the court's statement that it did not consider the merits.

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  25. [25] · factThe Texas Tribune, "Texas AG Ken Paxton's former aides win $6.6 million in whistleblower case"

    Used for the April 2025 civil judgment against the Office of the Attorney General, the office's decision not to contest the evidence, damages, and Paxton's response.

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  26. [26] · factTexas State Securities Board, agreed disciplinary order concerning Ken Paxton

    Used for the May 2014 agreed finding that Paxton solicited investment clients for compensation while unregistered, along with the reprimand and administrative fine. This is a confirmed administrative violation, not a criminal conviction.

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  27. [27] · factOffice of the Texas Attorney General, Google privacy settlement finalization

    Used for the office's October 2025 announcement that it finalized a $1.375 billion privacy settlement with Google. The office's characterization of the result is treated as its own description.

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  28. [28] · historical/current eventAssociated Press, "Google agrees to pay Texas $1.4B to settle claims the company collected users' data without permission"

    Used as outside context for the Google settlement, including Google's statement that the agreement resolved older claims and required no product changes.

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  29. [29] · factSupreme Court of the United States, Texas v. Pennsylvania docket and order

    Used for Paxton's 2020 attempt to challenge presidential-election results in four other states and the Supreme Court's denial of leave for lack of Article III standing.

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  30. [30] · candidate positionJames Talarico campaign issue page, "Taxes & Cost of Living"

    Used only for Talarico's stated tax, wage, tariff, tax-credit, Social Security, and Medicare proposals.

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  31. [31] · candidate positionJames Talarico campaign issue page, "Health Care"

    Used only for Talarico's stated health-insurance, prescription-drug, reproductive-rights, contraception, and IVF proposals.

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  32. [32] · candidate positionJames Talarico campaign issue page, "Public Education"

    Used only for Talarico's stated public-school, prekindergarten, teacher-workforce, student-meal, counseling, and special-education proposals.

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  33. [33] · candidate positionJames Talarico campaign issue page, "Immigration & Border Security"

    Used only for Talarico's stated border-enforcement, legal-pathway, immigration-court, DREAMer, and ICE-accountability proposals.

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  34. [34] · candidate positionJames Talarico campaign issue page, "Energy & Environment"

    Used only for Talarico's stated oil-and-gas, clean-energy, electric-grid, data-center, air, and water proposals.

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