Texas AG's office sues Harris County Clerk for allegedly running 'racially discriminatory advertisements'

Houston Public Media News 88.7 | By Kyle McClenagan | Houston Public Media

Published October 29, 2026 at 2:43 PM CDT

Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth disusing the upcoming election during a press conference on Oct. 20, 2023.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's Office is suing the Harris County Clerk's Office for allegedly running social media advertisements that targeted "certain racial and ethnic groups," according to the lawsuit filed Thursday.

Paxton, who is currently running as a Republican in the Texas Senate race against Democrat James Talarico, has recused himself from the investigation, according to a statement from his office.

The lawsuit accuses county clerk Teneshia Hudspeth and her office’s director of communications, Irene Nuñez, of running voter awareness ads on Facebook and Instagram that were allegedly targeting "certain racial and ethnic groups (African-American, Asian, and South American or Latino Groups)" while excluding other demographics.

"The Harris County Clerk's office used Meta's ad tools to intentionally target its ‘Get Out the Vote' style ads to certain racial and ethnic groups while avoiding targeting other demographics," the attorney general’s office said via a release announcing the lawsuit. "By classifying based upon race when advertising to provide Harris County voters with election information, the county clerk's office exceeded its authority."

The attorney general’s office claimed this alleged targeted advertising amounts to racial discrimination "in an effort to increase voter turnout among particular races and ethnicities."

The county clerk's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Meta's ad library shows that the clerk's office spent over $40,000 on such advertisements in the past 30 days.

The race between Paxton and Talarico has gained national attention as recent polling shows the candidates within the margin of error of each other. A Democrat has not won state office since 1994.

Paxton's office said it is bringing the lawsuit to "ensure that all Texans have an equal opportunity to be informed of and participate in the electoral process, regardless of race or demographic."

Early voting for the Nov. 3 election ends on Friday.