MIDTERMS 2026: Why we’re all wondering what Texas is choosin'

Chris Fox (0:01)

I don't know, I don't know if anything is really compared to Texas because it just, it feels like its own country because it's got the mindset of it is its own country.

Lauren Barry (0:15)

This is a special midterms election edition of The On Deadline Podcast. I'm your host, Lauren Barry.

Ella Langley might have gotten a hit this year, for writing about Choosing Texas, but now it's midterm election season and we want to know what Texas is choosing. You see, Texas is known as a pretty solidly red state. A Democrat hasn't won a statewide office there in more than 30 years. But this year, things look different, especially in the state's Senate race. The GOP candidate, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, is controversial even among his own party. On the Democratic side, state rep James Tell Rico is making inroads with Republicans. How did we get here? It's a story that's unfolding after years of controversy surrounding Paxton, and as new issues like data centers are shaking up established political party stances. I spoke to Chris Fox, a long-time political reporter in the Lone Star State, and the Austin Bureau Chief for Audacy Station KRLD 1080 in Dallas, to get more details on this Senate race, why it's so different from past races, and what it reveals about the 2026 midterms.

For listeners who aren't that up on this specific Texas race, I wanted to get some background on this specific Senate seat. Who held it before Tallerico and Paxton started going at it, and how long has it been since a Democrat actually held the seat?

Chris Fox (2:10)

Okay, the seat was held by John Cornyn, who still holds the seat. He lost the primary. He lost the Republican primary to Ken Paxton. And that was a big, contentious debate, because Cornyn is generally considered not to be MAGA like Ken Paxton is. Cornyn was more moderate Republican. And at the last minute, President Trump endorsed Paxton over Cornyn. Cornyn, who had been served three terms, I believe, three or four terms already, and had done a lot of the work for President Trump in his first term in solidifying a lot of the votes as a majority whip. And so he felt kind of as if President Trump turned on it. And that really changed the primary, where Cornyn lost by 30 points to Paxton. So that's the seat that's up for grabs. It was the senior senator, Ted Cruz would be the junior senator. The last time a Democrat held this seat, was 1988 And that was Lloyd Benston.

And he was, I guess, the last Democrat to hold this. The last Democrat elected to statewide office in Texas was 1994

And so it's been a long period of time. It's been a hell of a run for the Republicans in Texas.

Lauren Barry (3:40)

Now, just another little bit of background, who are Ken Paxton and James Tellerico? Ken Paxton is, of course, the Attorney General. James Tellerico, I believe, is currently a state rep.

So tell us a little bit about them for people who don't know about them.

Chris Fox (3:56)

Ken Paxton is a former state rep, former state senator who was elected 14 years ago as the Attorney General. He replaced Governor Abbott. Governor Abbott, Greg Abbott, was the Attorney General prior.

And since then, Ken Paxton has had a very successful run election-wise. And he's done it without debating anybody. He was elected in 2014, I believe it was, and he beat out in the Republican primary a state rep named Dan Branch.

And they did it without a debate. And Paxton has never really had to debate since then, because he's never had the need to. Texas has always been very red state. Republicans show up to vote in Texas. And so he's never had to debate and he never has debated. And that's why we're in a situation now where there's a lot of pressure on him to debate and he has no real reason to.

Lauren Barry (4:54)

Here we're going to pause to put a voice to the name. While Fox noted that Paxton avoids debates, both Paxton and Tallarico sat down with the Hispanic Business Council for back-to-back interviews in September.

During his interview, Paxton shared a little bit about why he got into politics.

Ken Paxton (5:16)

You know, I became very interested in politics when I was in California when Ronald Reagan was our governor. And I was really captivated by his hope, his optimism, by his principles that I thought worked and that had made California at the time very successful and gave us a surplus, which is hard to believe today.

But what he did was inspiring. And I think that was really what drew me into politics. And of course, you know, I went to Baylor. And as you said, I got my undergrad and my MBA from there. I served as student body president my last year. I'm still class president. So it wasn't really the same as what this is. And then, of course, once I moved up to Collin County, they drew a new seat. I ran for it, served in the House and the Senate. Really enjoyed that. And I've had the privilege of serving as the attorney general of Texas for the last 12 years, which has been one of the most remarkable joys of my life.