2026 Race for U.S. Senate

Paxton: For Texas

Protecting the Texas Promise

Texas's Class 2 U.S. Senate Seat

First held by Sam Houston — hero of San Jacinto and the first President of the Republic of Texas — who represented Texas in this seat from 1846 to 1859. Nearly two centuries later, Ken Paxton is fighting to keep it in the hands of a Texan.

"Thank You Very Much, President Trump. We Won’t Let You Down, Texas"

"My Kids Know I'm Running for Senate Because I'm Fighting for Them"

Charlie Kirk: "An Inspiration to Millions of People Across Texas"

Members of the Press Laugh as Trump Dunks on James Talarico…

Nick Sortor: "Stephen Miller Just Sent a BRUTAL Warning to Every Voter Supporting…"

"I Believe Every Texan Should Be Able to Buy a Home and Raise a Family"

"We Are Not Backing Down. We Are Not Surrendering. And We Are Not Going…"

In a personal op-ed for Texas Scorecard, Ken Paxton's daughter Mattie Hayworth set the record straight about who her father really is, and why she believes in his campaign for U.S. Senate.

“He fights because he believes it, for every family in this state.”

— Mattie Hayworth, Ken Paxton's daughter
His Story

A Lifetime of Service to Texas

Before he was Texas's top lawyer, Ken Paxton was a Baylor student, a North Texas attorney, and a state legislator who spent two decades earning the trust of his neighbors.

1985‑86

Baylor University

Earned a B.A. in psychology and an M.B.A. Elected student body president, started the Steppin’ Out community service day, and helped found the Freshman Leadership Organization.

1991–2002

North Texas Law Practice

Earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia, then practiced law in North Texas — at Strasburger & Price, as in-house counsel for J.C. Penney, and running his own McKinney firm for 14 years handling estate planning, probate, and real estate.

2003–2015

Texas Legislature

Represented Collin County in the Texas House (District 70 — Frisco, Allen, McKinney, Prosper, and Celina) starting in 2003, then moved up to the Texas Senate (District 8) in 2013.

2015–Present

Texas Attorney General

Sworn in as the 51st Attorney General of Texas in January 2015 and re-elected in 2018 and 2022, leading the state's legal fights to defend Texas from federal overreach.

A Life Shaped by Perseverance

At just 12 years old, Ken suffered a severe eye injury in a childhood accident that led doctors to remove the lens from his right eye, leaving him with a drooping eyelid, heterochromia, and permanent vision loss on that side. A further injury playing football as a freshman at Baylor required additional surgery. He never let it slow him down — building a legal career, raising a family, and devoting his life to public service instead.

The Record

What Ken Paxton has actually done for Texas as Attorney General — organized by issue, with 24 receipts straight from his office.

25 Wins for Texas

Swipe through the full record, card by card — share it with the page's share button above.

Ken Paxton · Attorney General of Texas · 2015–Present

25 Wins

for Texas

Eleven years in office. Twenty-five wins, every one checked against the record.

Swipe →

Border & Immigration

01

Won the injunction that halted President Obama's DAPA amnesty — and held it through a deadlocked Supreme Court.

02

Restored Texas's border razor wire at the Fifth Circuit after federal agents cut it.

03

Kept the Rio Grande buoys in the water, defeating the federal removal suit en banc, 11–7.

04

Cleared the injunction against Senate Bill 4 at the en banc Fifth Circuit, 10–7.

Ken Paxton · 25 Wins for Texas2/9

Elections & Election Integrity

05

Defended Texas's congressional map at the U.S. Supreme Court — and won twice, keeping the map in place for the midterms.

06

Upheld Texas's ban on paid ballot harvesting at the Fifth Circuit.

07

Revived Texas's mail ballot ID requirements, reversing the injunction in full.

08

Defended Texas voter ID all the way to final judgment.

Ken Paxton · 25 Wins for Texas3/9

Big Tech & Privacy

09

$1.4 billion from Meta over Texans' biometric data — the largest data privacy settlement any single state has won.

10

$1.375 billion from Google for violating Texans' privacy — nearly fifteen times more than any other state has recovered from the company.

Ken Paxton · 25 Wins for Texas4/9

Children & Families

11

Over $1 billion from Meta in a child safety settlement forcing new default protections for Texas teens on Facebook and Instagram.

12

Won at the U.S. Supreme Court upholding Texas's law requiring age verification for online pornography.

13

Upheld Senate Bill 14 at the Texas Supreme Court, 8–1 — no transition procedures for minors.

14

$10 million from Texas Children's Hospital, which will open the state's first detransition clinic.

Ken Paxton · 25 Wins for Texas5/9

Consumer Protection & Fraud

15

Past $3 billion in opioid recoveries for Texas, including $286.5 million from the $7.4 billion Purdue and Sackler settlement — the largest ever reached with the individuals behind the crisis.

16

$235.9 million from Xerox — the largest Medicaid fraud recovery this office has ever obtained.

17

$41.5 million from Pfizer and Tris Pharma for adulterated ADHD medicine given to children on Texas Medicaid.

18

$125 million recovered and 123 arrests in health care fraud in 2025 alone.

19

More than $14 million returned to nearly 500,000 Texans from Intuit's TurboTax.

20

$50 million from Volkswagen over the emissions scandal.

Ken Paxton · 25 Wins for Texas6/9

Fighting Through COVID

21

Blocked the federal Head Start vaccine and mask mandate statewide — and the administration never appealed.

22

Helped stop OSHA's vaccine-or-test mandate, winning the Fifth Circuit stay that froze it.

23

Won at the Fifth Circuit defending Texas's order barring school mask mandates.

Ken Paxton · 25 Wins for Texas7/9

Life & the Office

24

Won unanimously at the Texas Supreme Court defending the Human Life Protection Act.

25

Won at the Texas Supreme Court protecting the Attorney General's authority to investigate.

Ken Paxton · 25 Wins for Texas8/9

Still in Court

Sued ActBlue under Texas consumer protection law over safeguards against fraudulent and foreign donations — now on appeal to the First Circuit.

Sued the NCAA over its transgender participation policy, with trial set for this fall — and secured a Dallas ISD agreement to comply with Texas's girls' sports law.

These fights are still live. They are not counted among the 25.

Ken Paxton · 25 Wins for Texas9/9
The Plan

Protecting the Texas Promise

Ken Paxton's affordability agenda puts real money back in the pockets of Texas families — on health care, housing, and raising kids.

Health Care Costs

A $25,000 tax deduction for out-of-pocket medical expenses and health premiums — plus another $25,000 deduction for each dependent.

Your First Home

A $50,000 tax deduction for first-time homebuyers, to help young families finally get off the sidelines.

Moving Up

A $50,000 down-payment deduction when you sell your first home and buy your next one.

Healthy Living

A $5,000 deduction for gym memberships, nutrition plans, GLP-1 medications, and kids' sports.

Trump Accounts

Make Trump Accounts — tax-advantaged savings accounts for every Texas kid — permanent.

Child Tax Credit

Double the Child Tax Credit to $4,400 per child.

Source: Texas Tribune

Under Siege

They Came After Him. He’s Still Standing.

For over a decade, prosecutors, the FBI, his own political rivals, and the State Bar have thrown everything they had at Ken Paxton. Here’s how it turned out.

2015–2025

Securities Fraud Indictment

Indicted in 2015 over a private business dealing from his time as a state lawmaker. Nine years of delays and legal fights later, the case ended in 2024 with no admission of guilt — and was formally dismissed in June 2025.

2023

Impeachment Trial

House Republicans voted to impeach him on 20 articles. The Texas Senate held a public trial and acquitted him on all 16 articles considered — not one even got a majority vote to convict.

2020–2025

FBI / DOJ Corruption Probe

Federal investigators spent years probing the same core allegations. In early 2025, the Justice Department closed the case without filing a single charge.

2021–2025

State Bar Lawsuit

The State Bar of Texas sued him over his 2020 lawsuit challenging the presidential election results. The Texas Supreme Court threw the case out in early 2025.

2020–2025

Whistleblower Lawsuit

Fired former staffers sued after reporting him to the FBI. A Travis County judge awarded them $6.6 million in 2025, and Paxton dropped his appeal rather than keep fighting.

Still Standing

Five separate investigations. A decade of headlines. Zero criminal convictions. Ken Paxton has spent his career as Attorney General under constant legal fire — and every time, he’s gotten back to work for Texas.

From Austin to Washington

What the Job Translates To

Ken Paxton has spent a decade doing the state version of the job he is asking for. Here is what each fight becomes when the venue changes from a Texas courtroom to the United States Senate.

Border and Interior Enforcement

What Paxton did as AG

Defended Texas's buoys and razor wire in federal court. In June 2025 his office joined the Trump DOJ to end in-state tuition for illegal immigrants; a federal judge entered a permanent injunction the same day.

Source

What a senator controls

A senator votes on DHS and CBP appropriations, 287(g) and ICE authorities, and asylum statutes, and confirms the Homeland Security secretary and immigration judges.

Where Talarico stood

Voted against HB 9, the $1.8 billion border package, and against HB 7 and SB 4 on the Border Protection Unit and smuggling penalties. In January he told a Stop ICE rally it was time to tear down this secret police force.

Source

Public Safety and Trafficking

What Paxton did as AG

Launched the Human Trafficking and Transnational Organized Crime section, which has won convictions including a 55-year and a 60-year sentence for continuous trafficking of persons.

Source

What a senator controls

Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security write sentencing, bail and trafficking statutes, and oversee DOJ, FBI and ICE.

Where Talarico stood

Voted against HB 20 and SB 6, which tightened bail for violent and sexual offenses, and against HB 1900, which penalized cities that cut police budgets. His campaign says he opposes defunding police.

Source

Parental Rights and Schools

What Paxton did as AG

Settled with Texas Children's Hospital for $10 million over billing Medicaid for gender-transition interventions, compelling the nation's first detransition clinic and revoking physician privileges.

Source

What a senator controls

A senator votes on Title IX rules and education appropriations, and confirms Education and HHS officials.

Where Talarico stood

Voted against SB 14, the ban on gender-transition procedures for minors, saying it stripped care from children with rare genetic conditions. His campaign calls school vouchers a scam.

Source

Big Tech, Data and Consumer Money

What Paxton did as AG

Took $1.4 billion from Meta over biometric data and $1.375 billion from Google over privacy, the two largest privacy recoveries ever won by a single state, plus $1 billion from Meta in an August 2026 child-safety case.

Source

What a senator controls

Commerce and Judiciary write the privacy and antitrust statutes, subpoena executives, and set the national rules Texas had to sue to enforce on its own.

Where Talarico stood

No comparable record in this area.

Opioids and Health Costs

What Paxton did as AG

Has recovered more than $3 billion for Texas from the opioid industry, including $340 million from Walgreens, $300 million from CVS, $286.5 million from Purdue and the Sacklers, and $168 million from Walmart.

Source

What a senator controls

Senate work is FDA oversight, DEA scheduling, and Medicare and Medicaid payment rules.

Where Talarico stood

No comparable record in this area.

Where They Stand

The Choice

James Talarico stands with the radical Democrat socialist coalition. Ken Paxton stands with Texans.

“James Talarico is a threat to everything we hold dear.”

Texans stand for a secure border.

Texans want the border secured and immigration law enforced.

Paxton joins them.

Sued the federal government and defended Texas's constitutional right to secure its own border.

Source

Talarico stands with the radical left.

Sides with the open-borders left — focused on preserving asylum access instead of enforcement.

Source

Texans stand for public safety.

Texans want violent criminals off the streets and dangerous predators kept behind bars.

Paxton joins them.

As Attorney General, secured decades-long prison sentences against traffickers and violent predators — putting criminals away, not back on the street.

Source

Talarico stands with the radical left.

Voted against the Damon Allen Act's bail restrictions for violent and sexual offenders and against mandatory minimums for human traffickers — and his campaign proudly donated to a group pushing to defund the Austin Police Department.

Source

Texans stand for the right to life.

Texans support the state's pro-life laws.

Paxton joins them.

Defended those laws all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Source

Talarico stands with the radical left.

Wants to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law — the same position pushed by the national socialist left.

Source

Texans stand for lower costs, not higher taxes.

Texans are tired of rising costs and want real relief for their families.

Paxton joins them.

Protecting the Texas Promise cuts costs directly — on health care, housing, and raising kids.

Source

Talarico stands with the radical left.

Endorsed by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and running on repealing tax cuts — Bernie-style economics for Texas.

Source

Texans stand for parents know best.

Texans believe parents should be the first to know about major decisions affecting their own kids.

Paxton joins them.

Fought a school district that tried to help a student change their gender identity without telling the parents.

Source

Talarico stands with the radical left.

Opposed a law requiring schools to involve parents before socially transitioning a student.

Source

Texans stand for who stands behind them.

Texans want a senator who answers to Texas — not out-of-state special interests.

Paxton joins them.

Built his career fighting for Texas as our elected Attorney General for over a decade.

Source

Talarico stands with the radical left.

Backed by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and endorsed by national Senate progressives before facing a single Texas voter.

Source

Stand With Ken Paxton

Texas needs a fighter in the U.S. Senate who won't back down. Join the campaign, spread the word, and help protect the Texas Promise for every family in this state.