Roosevelt, Theodore
1901–1909
TR was a progressive Republican — trust-busting, conservationist, the original anti-corruption crusader, who broke up Standard Oil and took on the meatpacking industry. He believed great wealth concentration was a threat to democracy and championed civic virtue and the 'strenuous life.' Paxton wins on national strength and Second Amendment but loses on TR's anti-trust, anti-corruption, anti-oligarchy, pro-conservation values; Paxton's BlackRock lawsuit attacked divestment from coal rather than monopoly behavior. Talarico would be recognizable to TR on the anti-billionaire frame, the muckraking instinct on corruption, the rural-investment focus, and the conservation-friendly energy plan. TR would dislike Talarico's softer foreign-policy posture and pro-marijuana stance.
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)