Texas Senate race 2026: Paxton vs. Talarico

RThe Ledger's profile

Ken Paxton

Texas Attorney General since 2015 and the 2026 Republican nominee for U.S. Senate: his record in office, his legal history and his stated priorities.

Read the documented profile of Ken Paxton

Also on the ballot

James Talarico

American politician and former middle school teacher; Texas state representative, first elected in 2018; 2026 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate from Texas

The general-election field as the board records it: Paxton (R) vs. James Talarico (D) vs. Ted Brown (L)

The race at a glance

Board data as of Sep 15, 2026. Ratings are the raters' own current calls; polls are the newest public ones with their field dates; money is what the committees reported. Nothing here is a forecast.

Seat

Open in effect — Cornyn (R) lost renomination

Primary

Mar 3: Cornyn 910,382 (42.0%), Paxton 878,564 (40.5%), Hunt 293,250 (13.5%); runoff May 26: Paxton 888,196 (63.8%) def. Cornyn 503,438 (Wikipedia/AP; SOS runoff totals not retrievable). D: Talarico 1,216,412 (52.4%) def. Crockett 1,071,900

Ratings

Cook Toss Up (Aug 20); Sabato Toss-up (Aug 26); IE Lean R (Sep 3)

Newest public polling

SoCal Strategies Sep 12–13 n=649 LV: Talarico 50 / Paxton 45; InsiderAdvantage Sep 8–9 n=1,200 LV: Talarico 47 / Paxton 46; AARP (Fabrizio/Impact) Aug 30–Sep 1 n=895 LV: Talarico 48 / Paxton 44

Reported money

FEC Jun 30: Paxton $9,248,699 raised / $1,755,783 COH; Talarico $68,555,930 / $21,548,155

Notable

Trump endorsed Paxton May 19 (filibuster commitment). No CFG general-election reservation found; Texas Tribune Sep 11 on GOP Senate super-PAC spending for Paxton does not mention CFG.

Key dates in Texas

Read from the Texas Secretary of State. The full guide, with the official tools, is on the Texas page.

• Voter registration deadlineMonday, October 5, 2026. An application counts if it is postmarked by that date or received in the county voter registrar's office by that date. A voter registration application filled out online must still be printed and sent to the county voter registrar's office. votetexas.gov
• Early voting in person beginsMonday, October 19, 2026 — first day of early voting by personal appearance. votetexas.gov
• Deadline to apply for a ballot by mail (received, not postmarked)Friday, October 23, 2026. The Application for Ballot by Mail (ABBM) must be received — not just postmarked — by the early voting clerk in the county where you are registered, before the close of regular business or 12 noon, whichever is later. votetexas.gov
• Deadline to return a ballot by mail (received by)The early voting clerk must receive the ballot by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, 2026, if the carrier envelope is not postmarked; or by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4, 2026 (the next business day), if the carrier envelope is postmarked by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day at the location of the election. Different deadlines apply to overseas and military voters. sos.texas.gov
• Election DayTuesday, November 3, 2026. sos.texas.gov
• Polling place hours on Election Day7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 3, 2026, at all polling places statewide. votetexas.gov

Voting in Texas: dates, rules and official tools

Questions and answers