Small Business

John Cornyn (R)

Cornyn co-sponsored the Small Business Tax Fairness Act expanding Section 199A pass-through deductions, the Save Local Business Act limiting joint-employer expansion, and the JOBS Credit Act supporting hiring incentives. He supports permanent QBI for pass-through entities, 100% bonus depreciation, and reforms to the Bank Secrecy Act for small-business community-bank lending. He voted for the Corporate Transparency Act's BOI reporting framework but has subsequently championed small-business carve-outs. He has consistently received the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 'Spirit of Enterprise' award and the NFIB 'Guardian of Small Business' award. He treats regulatory predictability as a core small-business priority, in implicit contrast with Paxton's litigation-heavy AG style.

Ken Paxton (R)

Paxton's Senate campaign issues page does not contain a dedicated small-business plank, but his AG record is genuinely strong on the NFIB legislative agenda. His 2024 amicus brief in Texas Top Shop v. Garland helped secure a nationwide preliminary injunction against the Corporate Transparency Act's Beneficial Ownership Information reporting requirement, which carried penalties up to $500K and 10 years in prison. He joined an Ohio-led amicus brief against the Biden DOL tipped-employee rule, protecting restaurants and hospitality from FLSA reinterpretation. NFIB-Texas PAC endorsed his 2022 AG re-election. But his Tylenol lawsuit, 'request to examine' statute use against companies (initially ruled unconstitutional), and the Tribune/ProPublica forum-shopping investigation create the regulatory-uncertainty exposure the Texas Association of Business has flagged.

Small Business

John Cornyn (R)

Ken Paxton (R)

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