3 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Tax deductions as his central affordability proposal, rather than direct spending.
Aggressive immigration enforcement; he led the national legal effort against Biden administration border policy.
Using the attorney general's office against what he calls woke corporations and the Austin political establishment.
Alignment with President Trump's agenda.
Blaming Washington and federal regulation for the cost of living in Texas.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Attorney General of Texas since January 2015.
Previously a member of the Texas House and Texas Senate.
Won the May 26 2026 Republican Senate runoff with 63.8% against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.
Impeached by the Texas House in 2023 on 16 articles in a bipartisan vote, over allegations he misused his office to help donor and real estate investor Nate Paul; acquitted on all articles by the Texas Senate in September 2023.
Indicted on felony securities fraud charges in 2015; resolved by a March 2024 pretrial agreement requiring community service, legal ethics courses and nearly $300,000 in restitution, with no conviction.
A federal bribery investigation related to the same matter was closed without charges.
Was not the National Republican Senatorial Committee's preferred candidate in the primary; the NRSC backed Cornyn.
Arguments in favor
During the Biden administration he led the national legal charge against federal border policy and against what he calls the far-left agenda, and has fought woke corporations and the Austin establishment.
— Ken Paxton for Senate campaign
His nearly 28-point runoff win over a three-term incumbent was earned on his record: 'the record of doing my job for the past seven and a half years.'
— Ken Paxton, in an interview with Fox News
He carried President Trump's endorsement into the runoff, and Republican primary voters treated that as decisive.
— President Donald Trump, as reported by ABC News
Arguments against
He is the most corrupt politician in Texas — pointing to his 2023 impeachment and to the growth of his real estate holdings and net worth while in public office.
— James Talarico, his Democratic opponent, in his first television ad of the race
The Texas House impeached him on 16 articles in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, on whistleblower allegations that he misused the powers of his office for a friend and donor under federal investigation.
— The 2023 Texas House impeachment record, as reported by ABC News and the Texas Tribune
His campaign is illegally spending — his campaign and its treasurer routed $1 million to a Paxton-aligned super PAC, the subject of a Federal Election Commission complaint.
— The Talarico campaign's FEC complaint, as reported by CBS News
What we couldn’t verify
His own campaign website could not be retrieved; his positions here come from reporting and his public statements.
The substance of the reported unease among some Republicans about his general election campaign, and whether the NRSC and Senate Leadership Fund are now funding him.
Details of his affordability plan beyond the general commitment to tax deductions.
His position on federal abortion policy could not be established from sources located.
A 'cost-of-living tax cut' funded by repealing the tax cuts for the top 1%, plus raising the minimum wage and expanding overtime pay.
Cancelling medical debt, universal childcare, paid family leave and a permanent child tax credit expansion.
Anti-corruption measures: banning super PACs, corporate PACs, partisan gerrymandering and congressional stock trading.
Down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers alongside deregulation to speed housing construction.
An 'all-of-the-above' energy approach that partners with oil and gas while investing in renewables.
An 'AI dividend' giving every citizen a stake in American AI companies.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Texas State Representative for an Austin-area district since 2019.
Won the 2026 Democratic Senate primary with 52.4% over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
Former public school teacher; currently a seminary student.
Voted against Texas SB 17, restricting property purchases by nationals of adversarial countries, and against SB 667, barring state agencies from doing business with entities tied to adversarial countries.
Has out-raised Ken Paxton.
Filed a Federal Election Commission complaint against the Paxton campaign over $1 million routed to an aligned super PAC.
Publicly walked back earlier comments on religion and gender after the runoff.
Arguments in favor
His 'New American Dream' plan connects the two problems directly — 'we have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis' — and pairs concrete cost-of-living measures with a ban on super PACs and congressional stock trading.
— James Talarico for Senate campaign
He offers a youthful contrast to entrenched Republican state leadership and is trying to reconnect Texas Democrats with working-class voters, using an explicitly faith-based moral framing.
— Austin American-Statesman reporting on his campaign launch
He is out-fundraising his opponent and running competitively in a state Democrats have not won statewide since 1994; even Republican strategist Karl Rove has said he could pull off an upset.
— Karl Rove, Republican strategist
Arguments against
He is a 'far left liberal' whose policy positions are too liberal for Texas.
— Senate Majority Leader John Thune
He is 'the most radical, woke Democrat Texas voters have ever seen' — an NRSC digital ad used an AI-generated version of him reading his own old social media posts on race, gender, religion and immigration back to voters.
— National Republican Senatorial Committee
He voted against SB 17 and SB 667, bills restricting property purchases by nationals of adversarial countries and barring state agencies from contracting with entities tied to them, and his hope of winning Republican crossover votes is a 'pipe dream' — 'nobody is going to follow him.'
— Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters, and Texas Republican legislators
What we couldn’t verify
What exactly he said in the religion-and-gender comments he later walked back, and what his current position is.
How the 'AI dividend' would be structured or financed.
His position on federal immigration enforcement, as distinct from the two state bills he voted against.
Whether he would support the Democratic leader in a Senate organising vote.
Cutting the size of the federal government, which he argues Republicans have grown.
Personal freedom and civil liberties.
Economic freedom and reduced regulation.
A non-interventionist foreign policy.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Libertarian Party of Texas nominee for U.S. Senate in 2024; received more than 267,000 votes, about 2.36%, against Ted Cruz.
Nominated again at the Libertarian convention on April 12 2026.
Retired insurance adjuster; holds a B.A. in political science from UCLA.
Has held various leadership roles in the Libertarian Party of Texas.
Has not held elected office.
Had not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey as of this research.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
No coverage critical of him by name could be located, so no arguments against him are recorded here rather than substituting criticism of the Libertarian Party generally. With no criticism available, no arguments for him are recorded either, so that the two columns stay comparable.
His specific positions on immigration, abortion and health care.
His fundraising; an FEC candidate page exists but was not retrieved.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
Roster established from NBC News, CNN, NPR and Houston Public Media runoff coverage plus the Texas Libertarian Party's April 12 2026 nominating convention, cross-checked. Republican incumbent John Cornyn lost renomination: Attorney General Ken Paxton beat him in the May 26 2026 runoff with 63.8%, after a late endorsement from President Trump. Cornyn was one of two incumbent senators to lose renomination in 2026 and the first Texas senator to do so since 1970. On the Democratic side, state Rep. James Talarico won the primary with 52.4% over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett. Ted Brown was nominated by the Libertarian Party of Texas at its April 12 convention over Daniel Mark Sims. Candidates are listed in the order Texas normally prints statewide partisan races; this ordering carries no other meaning. No Green Party or independent Senate candidate could be confirmed.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Texas ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.