LGBTQ / Social Issues
Ken Paxton (R)
Paxton wants to 'defeat the radical transgender movement that's desperate to put men in girls' sports and woke indoctrination in our classrooms.' He led the investigation and lawsuit against Texas Children's Hospital over gender-affirming care, resulting in a May 2026 settlement with the Trump administration. He called Talarico 'completely and totally morally bankrupt' for the Democrat's positions on gender and abortion. His campaign frames LGBTQ-rights advances as part of a broader 'radical left' agenda. He has not staked out a position on Trump's IVF accessibility plan despite the fetal-personhood implications.
James Talarico (D)
Talarico would 'protect the legality of gay marriage and defend our LGBTQ+ neighbors from government overreach.' He would restore reproductive freedom by codifying Roe v. Wade and protect access to contraception and IVF federally. He used a procedural point of order on the Texas House floor to kill a statewide book ban that would have removed classics like Lonesome Dove and The Catcher in the Rye. He frames these as 'freedom' issues: 'you can't stand for freedom and control what we say, what we read, and what we do with our own bodies.' He opposes cancel culture 'whether it's from the left or the right' and explicitly defended Jimmy Kimmel after his September 2025 firing.
Sources
- Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate, official campaign issues page, accessed May 2026. (full list)
- Talarico for Texas, official campaign issues pages (taxes, education, healthcare, immigration, social media/AI, freedom-family-faith, public-safety-justice, corruption-democracy, labor-business), accessed May 2026. (full list)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Ken Paxton,' updated May 2026 (impeachment, securities settlement, AG litigation history). (full list)
- CNN interview, April 2026; Breitbart coverage of Paxton-Talarico exchange, April 23, 2026. (full list)