‘The Stakes Are High’: Paxton Warns Texas Voters Of Consequences In His Race Against Talarico

Paxton said he has been “doing a lot of work reaching out to people” and explaining his positions to them. He acknowledged that Republicans do not always get their preferred candidate but said he ultimately moves on and supports the Republican nominee. “Everybody I vote for doesn’t win, but eventually I move on and vote for the Republican,” Paxton said.

Paxton added that he would have supported incumbent Sen. John Cornyn had Cornyn won, saying he was repeatedly asked during the race whether he would back him in that scenario. “Absolutely, no doubt about it,” Paxton recalled answering, saying he would have supported the Republican nominee because he considers Talarico “the most dangerous candidate in Texas that we’ve ever had.”

Jaye, who said he previously worked in Texas politics for Rep. Brian Babin, another Paxton endorser, asked why Democrats repeatedly target Texas and argue that the state could turn blue. Paxton said Texas is on Democrats’ “top wish list” because of its electoral importance. “If they take Texas, we’re not going to elect another president from the Republican Party,” he argued, adding that Republicans would also struggle to maintain a congressional majority.

Paxton alleged that Democrats have “California rigged” and “many of these other liberal Democratic states rigged” because of what he described as poor election laws. He said Democrats hope to take Texas because, in his telling, they already have “three of the largest four states.” He also acknowledged the difficulty the president’s party can face in a midterm election, saying “a midterm year tends to be tougher for the party in power.”

Paxton pointed to Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s close challenge to Sen. Ted Cruz as an example of why Democrats continue investing in Texas. “I think it was less than a two-point race for Ted Cruz, and they’re hoping for the same thing here,” Paxton said. “We just got to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Jaye also noted that Paxton won his primary without help from Washington and said spending supporting Paxton during the primary had been around $4 million. Asked whether national Republicans were now prepared to support his campaign, Paxton said he believes they understand the consequences of losing the Texas seat. “If we lose Texas, the Senate’s gone,” he said. “We’re not going to hold the Senate.”

Click to expand...

NEW FOX POLL: TALARICO LEADS PAXTON IN TEXAS SENATE RACE

A new Fox poll shows Democrat James Talarico holding a narrow 3-point lead over Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race.

TEXAS, VOTE KEN PAXTON pic.twitter.com/tbFhtYQcNw

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) July 31, 2026

Click to expand...

Latest Political Poll: Texas U.S. Senator

Ken Paxton: 61%

James Talarico: 39%

— Texas Knight (@MrTexKnight) August 13, 2026

Click to expand...

Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico needs to flip some Republican voters this November to win in the largest red state in the U.S., but his opponents are calling out claims of Republicans backing him as inauthentic, if not fraudulent.

“Any chance that Talarico has building any type of Republican coalition is a pipe dream for him,” Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Nobody is going to follow him. He’s completely out of touch with Texans.”

Gruters’ rebuke came after women voters interviewed on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” claimed to be Republican crossover supporters, only to have longstanding ties to Democrats and anti-President Donald Trump groups — not exactly people that would be voting for Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton in one of the Senate’s biggest ticket races in the battle for the majority.

“The people that he had come out and say that they were on his team have been proven to be basically Democrat, liberal activists that have been supporting Democrat candidates for 10-plus years,” Gruters continued.

Click to expand...