Issue-by-issue comparison

Issues

Each candidate's documented positions on 14 policy areas, side by side. Cells are capped at five sentences and footnoted to the sources list on each issue's page.

As AG, Paxton built one of the country's most aggressive state tech-enforcement programs, securing a $1.4B Meta settlement on biometric data and $1.375B in Google settlements on geolocation and biometric data. He reached a first-of-kind generative AI settlement with healthcare-AI company Pieces Technologies over misleading accuracy claims and opened investigations into Character.AI, TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, and Discord. He has not taken a public position on whether federal law should preempt state AI regulation. Sen. Paul Bettencourt asked Paxton in May 2026 to investigate Texas counties (Hill, Hood) that passed data-center moratoriums, signaling a pro-development posture. His campaign issues page does not specifically address AI or data centers.

James Talarico (D)

Talarico wants to 'guarantee large energy users like data centers fund the infrastructure improvements they need rather than passing those costs on to consumers.' He proposes mandatory algorithmic bias and privacy impact assessments for social media platforms, prohibitions on algorithms targeting minors, and reining in broad Section 230-style immunity. He would protect workers from AI surveillance, guarantee human review for automated hiring/firing decisions, and require AI companies to follow existing copyright law. He supports stronger export controls on advanced AI chips to keep them out of adversaries' hands and federal grants for digital-literacy programs. In Austin he authored Texas's deepfake-protection bill, the AI-political-ad regulation, and helped establish the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium.

Care for Aging / Sick

Ken Paxton (R)

Paxton's Senate campaign issues page does not have a dedicated seniors, Medicare, or Medicaid plank. He sued the Biden administration in 2024 to block CMS minimum staffing rules for nursing homes, arguing they would force rural facilities to close due to a 10,000-worker shortfall. He won a federal ruling in Sept. 2025 striking down a CMS rule expanding federal oversight of state Medicaid funding. He has long opposed the ACA and has not commented publicly on the enhanced premium tax credit expiration that disproportionately affects near-elderly adults age 50-64. Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the country and has not expanded Medicaid; Paxton has not used his platform to advocate for expansion.

James Talarico (D)

Talarico would let every American join Medicare regardless of age as an affordable not-for-profit public option. He would protect Social Security from cuts and eliminate the tax cap above $400K, expand the Older Americans Act for home- and community-based eldercare, and develop a high-quality elder-care workforce. He would save rural hospitals through better Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement, regulate PBMs and prior authorization, and ban medical debt on credit reports. He opposes VA privatization and would expand veterans' mental health services. In Texas he capped insulin co-pays at $25/month, authored the Canadian drug-import law, established a prescription drug savings program for uninsured Texans, and voted for the 'thirteenth check' supplemental retirement payment for retired teachers.

Corruption / Ethics

Ken Paxton (R)

Paxton was impeached by the Texas House on bribery and abuse-of-office charges in May 2023 (121-23) and acquitted by the Texas Senate in September 2023. He settled a nine-year state securities fraud case in 2024 by paying ~$300K in restitution with no admission of guilt, and the DOJ declined to prosecute him federally in early 2025. A May 2026 Texas Tribune/ProPublica investigation identified at least 30 AG cases filed in counties with tenuous connection to the alleged wrongdoing — forum-shopping that Paxton himself had previously denounced in 2017. Tribune reporting (May 2026) detailed a one-day-in-jail plea deal his office offered in a Waco child sex abuse case. His Senate campaign frames all of this as 'politically motivated witch hunts' and promises to 'drain the Swamp.'

James Talarico (D)

Talarico's first Senate priority is an anti-corruption package: ban super PACs and corporate PACs, ban partisan gerrymandering with independent redistricting commissions, and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. He would ban congressional stock trading, impose term limits (6 House terms / 2 Senate terms), require annual town halls, and ban presidential pardons. He proposes Supreme Court term limits and a binding code of conduct with recusal rules, financial disclosure requirements, and gift limits. He has refused all corporate PAC money since his 2017 first race and broke quorum twice in the Texas House over partisan redistricting. He voted to impeach Paxton in 2023, calling it 'this may be the most consequential vote I'll cast as a member of the Texas Legislature.'

Foreign Policy

Ken Paxton (R)

Paxton's campaign promises an 'America First foreign policy that promotes peace through strength, prioritizes our nation's interests first and foremost.' He has criticized Cornyn's votes on Ukraine aid but has not staked out specifics on the proposed Russia-Ukraine peace framework that would require Kyiv to cede territory. His campaign explicitly opposes 'sending billions to foreign countries and protecting the borders of other nations.' He has not publicly addressed Trump's consideration of USMCA withdrawal. Trump's endorsement specifically calls out Paxton's commitment to 'Support our Incredible Military/Veterans.'

James Talarico (D)

Talarico wants to 'restore America's standing as a global leader and build strong trade agreements with our allies.' He has framed Texas as the top exporting state and 'hit the hardest by Trump's unlawful tariffs.' He supports strong AI-chip export controls to keep advanced technology out of adversaries' hands. He opposes VA privatization and has held veterans' roundtables in El Paso to focus on mental health, substance abuse, and PTSD alternative therapies. His foreign-policy framing emphasizes diplomacy and alliance-restoration over unilateralism.

Gun Rights

Ken Paxton (R)

Paxton led the multistate ATF lawsuit that killed the Biden-era 'Engaged in the Business' rule expanding background checks on private firearm sales. He sued ATF over the pistol stabilizing-brace rule in partnership with Gun Owners of America, who endorsed his Senate campaign. He joined Montana-led amicus briefs challenging New York's Concealed Carry Improvement Act and ATF's bump-stock reclassification. He has repeatedly attacked Cornyn for negotiating the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, calling it an infringement on Texans' Second Amendment rights. Trump's endorsement statement lists protecting the Second Amendment among Paxton's commitments.

James Talarico (D)

Talarico frames his position as 'protect the Second Amendment while protecting our neighbors from gun violence.' He supports universal background checks, secure storage requirements around children, prosecution of firearms traffickers, and raising the purchase age to 21 for semi-automatic rifles with high-capacity magazines. He opposed Texas's permitless ('constitutional') carry law and co-authored HB 220 (handgun sale restrictions) and HB 22 (multiple-purchase reporting) in 2023. His most viral gun-policy moment came on the House floor days after the 2023 Allen mall shooting, confronting Republicans on HB 2960. His Texas record includes increasing penalties for mass shooting perpetrators and requiring Narcan on every public school campus.

Healthcare

Ken Paxton (R)

Paxton has 'gone after the ACA in court numerous times and has long opposed the law,' per Tribune reporting. He has not publicly addressed the 2025 expiration of the ACA enhanced premium tax credits, projected to drop hundreds of thousands of Texans from coverage. He has vigorously defended Texas's near-total abortion ban with its fertilization-onward fetal personhood definition and has not commented on Trump's IVF accessibility plan. He sued the Biden administration in 2024 to block CMS nursing-home minimum staffing rules, arguing they would force rural facilities to close. In Sept. 2025 he won a federal ruling striking down a CMS rule that would have expanded federal oversight of state Medicaid funding mechanisms.

James Talarico (D)

Talarico's signature proposal is a Medicare buy-in open to every American at any age as a not-for-profit public option competing with private insurance. He would restore the ACA enhanced premium tax credits, save rural hospitals through better Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement, regulate PBMs, reform prior authorization, and ban medical debt on credit reports. He would codify Roe v. Wade, protect contraception and IVF, and oppose VA privatization while expanding veterans' mental health services. In Austin he capped insulin co-pays at $25/month after his own diabetic-ketoacidosis diagnosis (a $684 first prescription), passed Canadian drug-import legislation, and used a procedural point of order to kill a bill that would have cut Medicaid coverage. He has framed Republican healthcare cuts as 'a moral crime' that will cause '51,000 Americans to die needlessly.'

Immigration (legal pathway)

Ken Paxton (R)

Paxton led the multistate DACA lawsuits since 2018, convincing Judge Hanen and the Fifth Circuit to block new first-time DACA applications. His office has sued the Biden administration more than 100 times on immigration including catch-and-release, parole programs, and the border wall. On the H-1B visa specifically he said: 'I want legal immigration… But it's got to be decided by Congress. Our immigration laws work if we follow them.' In Jan. 2026 he opened an H-1B fraud investigation against three North Texas businesses. His campaign priority is helping Trump 'deport the criminal illegal aliens Joe Biden invited into the country' and complete the border wall.

James Talarico (D)

Talarico frames border policy as 'our front porch — welcome mat out front and a lock on the door,' saying these are not mutually exclusive values. He would pass comprehensive immigration reform creating a path to citizenship for long-term residents, spouses of citizens, and DREAMers, with temporary work permits for recent arrivals. He would refocus ICE resources on traffickers, gang members, and human traffickers — 'not our neighbors who contribute to our communities, pay taxes, and pose no threat to our safety.' He would ban ICE agents from wearing masks or refusing to show identification and hold them accountable for abuses. He would hire more immigration judges, modernize port-of-entry security, and open a Senate district office in El Paso (the first since Phil Gramm retired in 2001).

Marijuana

Ken Paxton (R)

Paxton sued six Texas cities (Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin, Denton, and Dallas) between 2024 and 2025 over local decriminalization ordinances and ballot measures. He calls cannabis 'an illicit substance that psychologists have increasingly linked to psychosis and other negative consequences.' After SB 3 (the legislative THC ban) failed in two special sessions and Gov. Abbott vetoed it, Paxton's office and DSHS used administrative rulemaking to impose a 'total delta-9 THC' calculation effectively banning most current hemp products. The Texas Hemp Business Council sued Paxton and DSHS in April 2026 over those rules. His position holds that municipalities cannot pick and choose which state laws they enforce.

James Talarico (D)

Talarico would legalize regulated marijuana for adults, expunge past convictions, and use tax revenue for substance-abuse treatment and public-safety programs. He filed HB 4089 in 2021 and HB 5307 in 2025 to legalize adult use (up to 2.5 oz possession, 6 home-grown plants, 12 per household). He was the most visible opponent of Texas's 2025 SB 3 THC ban, calling it 'insane' and 'a gift to the cartels.' On Joe Rogan's podcast he accused Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of holding a flood-emergency bill hostage to pass the THC ban. He has framed legalization as 'part of ending the racist war on drugs' that has targeted Black and brown Americans.

Religion / Church-State

Ken Paxton (R)

Paxton publicly said 'In Texas classrooms, we want the Word of God opened, the Ten Commandments displayed, and prayers lifted up' after Texas SB 10 mandated such displays in 2025. When a federal judge enjoined the law in nine districts, Paxton said the rest of Texas 'must abide' by it. He has launched multiple investigations and lawsuits against Muslim organizations including CAIR, the East Plano Islamic Center, and Catholic migrant shelter Annunciation House. He issued the AG opinion declaring Blaine Amendments excluding religious schools from voucher funds unconstitutional under the Free Exercise Clause. He attends Stonebriar Community Church and frames his agenda in explicitly Christian terms.

James Talarico (D)

Talarico is a Presbyterian seminarian (Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary) studying to become a pastor. He calls himself 'a vocal critic of Christian nationalism' and 'the most vocal defender of the separation of church and state' in the Texas House. He opposes Ten Commandments mandates in classrooms, school chaplain laws, and Bible-infused public curricula, saying forcing the Commandments 'violates the most important commandment: love thy neighbor.' He has said 'the only thing worse than a tyrant is a tyrant who thinks they're on a mission from God.' He would pass the federal Do No Harm Act to prevent religious discrimination and reject policies forcing religion into neutral public spaces.

School Funding

Ken Paxton (R)

Paxton issued the 2023 AG opinion declaring Texas school vouchers and Education Savings Accounts constitutional, holding that Blaine Amendments excluding religious schools violate the First Amendment. He called Texas's $1B voucher law 'a historic step in ensuring that students will have the freedom to seek the educational option that is right for them.' In 2024 he sued seven school districts (including Denton, Frisco, Denison) alleging principals and superintendents illegally electioneered against pro-voucher candidates. In Jan. 2026 he opined that the Comptroller can block voucher schools 'illegally tied to terrorists or foreign adversaries,' leading to exclusion of CAIR-affiliated Islamic schools and a lawsuit. Trump's endorsement specifically lists 'Promote School Choice' among Paxton's commitments.

James Talarico (D)

Talarico led the Texas House fight against Abbott's voucher program and his colleagues selected him to lead that opposition. His Senate priorities include rejecting 'voucher scams being pushed by billionaire mega-donors that defund public schools to subsidize private education for the wealthiest Americans.' He wants universal Pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds, expanded Head Start, the Teacher Quality Partnership and TEACH grants, and protection of federal special-education oversight. In Austin he helped invest $6.5B into public schools for teacher pay, literacy and math initiatives, and capped Pre-K class sizes at 22 students. He has personally targeted billionaires Tim Dunn, Farris Wilks, and Betsy DeVos as the financial backers of the voucher movement.

Small Business

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.

James Talarico (D)

Talarico has a published Labor & Business plank: tax credits and subsidies to help small- and medium-sized businesses adapt to a $15 minimum wage without cutting jobs, expanded SBA loan eligibility, broader Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), and tariff repeal. He is Vice Chair of the Texas House Committee on Trade, Workforce, and Economic Development. He frames closing corporate $0-tax loopholes as 'evening the playing field' so 'more entrepreneurs make their dreams a reality.' He would support state-level equity investment programs and technical-assistance grants for small businesses. In Texas he voted to increase the business personal property tax exemption and reduce licensing/regulation fees for businesses in their first year of operation.

Taxes

Ken Paxton (R)

Paxton describes himself as a 'strong fiscal conservative' who will 'cut taxes and stop the wasteful spending' that built $36T in debt. He praised the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as 'HISTORICAL legislation that's going to unleash economic growth.' His campaign explicitly supports Trump's tax agenda, the CLARITY Act for crypto, and rolling back 'harmful regulations' on energy. He has not published a position on the pending expiration of Trump-era individual tax cuts or on the 50-year mortgage proposal. Trump's endorsement frames him as fighting to 'Cut Taxes and Regulations.'

James Talarico (D)

Talarico's tax plan splits into two distinct strands. On closing loopholes, he would end the carried-interest loophole, roll back tax breaks that let large corporations pay $0 in federal tax, end 'buy, borrow, die' step-up-basis loopholes, and eliminate the Social Security tax cap above $400K. On new rate hikes and new taxes, he would raise the corporate tax rate, raise capital-gains taxes on billionaires, raise the tax on corporate stock buybacks, and add a special tax on corporations paying executives more than 250x their median worker's salary; he has called publicly for taxing 'trillionaires out of existence.' On tax cuts, he would expand the Child Tax Credit and EITC for working families and small businesses, and repeal the Trump tariffs.

The Economy

Ken Paxton (R)

Paxton promises to 'revitalize American manufacturing, create American jobs, and restore the American Dream' alongside Trump's economic agenda. He supports energy dominance, deregulation, and crypto innovation including passage of the CLARITY Act. As AG he sued BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard, accusing them of trying to 'artificially manipulate the coal market' through ESG-aligned divestment. He praised the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and supported ending renewable-energy tax credits. He has not publicly addressed Trump's USMCA withdrawal consideration or 50-year mortgage proposal.

James Talarico (D)

Talarico would raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour and pass federal paid family leave legislation. He wants universal affordable child care, expanded antitrust enforcement against corporate landlords and grocery consolidation, and a federal task force on modular housing construction. He would ban Wall Street firms from buying up single-family housing stock, expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and modernize LIHEAP. He would repeal Trump tariffs, calling them the reason 'our cattle ranchers and farmers are filing record bankruptcies while Trump bails out Argentina's beef industry.' On crypto he supports clear consumer-protection rules so 'crypto companies play by the same rules as everyone else.'