Attorney General Ken Paxton made his case for Senate on Tuesday in Fort Worth before a room full of reporters, flanked by a large group of sheriffs and law enforcement officers, noting that the race against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico is a clear choice between a candidate who backs the police and one who does not.
Two state leaders introduced Paxton before he took the podium: Fort Worth Sheriff Bill Waybourne and state Rep. A.J. Lauderback, a retired Texas sheriff now representing House District 30. Lauderback praised Paxton for fighting what he called the “open borders ideology” and credited him with funding Operation Lone Star, the state’s border security strategy fighting illegal immigration and the influx of drugs like fentanyl, launched during the Biden administration.
Once at the microphone, Paxton thanked the sheriffs in attendance and pledged loyalty to police departments across the Lone Star State, telling the crowd that officers “need to know that their elected officials have their back.” He pointed to his office’s record defending officers in court, prosecuting violent crime referred by local agencies, and building new units – including a human trafficking and transnational organized crime section and a cold case and missing persons unit – as evidence of his commitment to the police.
Paxton then took the time to spotlight how Texas’ size and location make it a magnet for trafficking networks, and said his office created specialized resources so local agencies could better investigate and dismantle those operations. He also highlighted the office’s work on unsolved cases, saying families “should never lose hope simply because years have passed.”
Turning to His Opponent
The bulk of Paxton’s speech centered on Talarico, whom he accused of embracing the “defund the police” movement in 2020. A sign on Paxton’s podium read “Talarico: Handcuffed to His Record,” displaying several critiques of Talarico’s past, including his donations to “defund the police” efforts in Austin. Paxton described how Talarico donated money to the Austin Justice Coalition, an organization he described as having pushed to defund the Austin Police Department and opposed a local ballot measure aimed at funding police.
Paxton claimed Talarico has said policing is “deeply broken” and criticized his legislative votes – adding that Talarico opposed tighter bail rules for repeat offenders, mandatory minimums for human smugglers, stood against labeling Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, and enhanced penalties for organized crime.
Paxton then laid out his own Senate agenda: fully funding what he called President Trump’s security priorities, continuing border enforcement, targeting those cartels moving fentanyl more aggressively, backing mandatory detention and deportation of criminal migrants, and preserving qualified immunity protections for officers.
“I will always have your back,” Paxton told the officers.
Questions Deflected
During a brief question period, a reporter asked Paxton to respond to recent reporting regarding property acquisitions tied to his campaign. Paxton declined, saying he wanted to keep the event focused on law enforcement given the sheriffs present. He similarly declined to answer a question about his voting history in college, again citing the law enforcement focus of the press conference.
Asked what message he’d offer undecided voters with polls showing a tight race, Paxton repeated his framing of the contest: that he has supported law enforcement funding and protections while Talarico’s record and donations reflect the opposite.
More Baggage for Talarico’s Campaign
Tuesday’s focus on Talarico’s record follows a pattern The Dallas Express has tracked throughout the race. As previously reported by DX, Talarico’s religious views – including past comments on gender, abortion and biblical interpretation – have drawn sharp criticism from Republicans and Christian commentators who argue his positions diverge from historic Christian doctrine. This controversy has followed him since he first emerged as the Democratic nominee.
More recently, Talarico faced backlash after his self-described mentor, Austin pastor Jim Rigby, appeared to downplay a third assassination attempt on President Trump during a Sunday sermon, prompting the RNC and other Republicans to tie the remarks back to Talarico’s campaign even as Talarico publicly condemned political violence.
Registration and the Road to November
With voter registration closing October 5 and early voting set for October 17–30, Texans have just over two months until Election Day on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
Talarico’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Dallas Express as of press time.
Provided by Dallas Express
