Attorney General Ken Paxton and State Rep. James Talarico, the respective Republican and Democratic Candidates for Texas’ next U.S. senator, made their final Houston appearances of the 2026 campaign on Halloween weekend.
Each gave a variation on the same message they've advanced at previous stops in the Houston region, this time with the added urgency of Election Day approaching. According to HarrisVotes.com, the unofficial combined tally of early in-person and mail-in votes for Harris County after two weeks of early voting was just over 1 million. According to the Texas Secretary of State's website, the total in-person and mail-in vote for the ten-county Houston metropolitan area over that same period was more than 1.8 million. That means the Greater Houston early vote accounted for nearly a quarter of the early votes cast across Texas.
Paxton spoke on Friday at the Federal American Grill on Shepherd Drive in Houston's Rice Military neighborhood. The speakers who warmed up the crowd included Galveston state Sen. Mayes Middleton, who is running to succeed Paxton as Texas attorney general, and Jon Bonck, the Republican nominee to succeed outgoing U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt in Texas' 38th Congressional District.
Paxton used the occasion once again to outline his economic proposals, which he dubs the Protecting the Texas Promise Plan. The proposal relies chiefly on tax cuts: a $25,000 deduction for out-of-pocket medical expenses; a $50,000 deduction for buying a home; a "healthy living deduction" for gym memberships and physician-prescribed weight-loss drugs; and making President Donald Trump's children's savings accounts permanent. He touted his numerous successful lawsuits against both big businesses and the administration of former Democratic President Joe Biden.
"I’m asking you to look at my record and then compare it to a guy named James Talarico," Paxton said. "Everything that I just laid out puts money in your pocket. His entire record takes it out. James Talarico does have a plan for your money. It just doesn’t include you."
Paxton stressed that there was more at stake in Tuesday's election than just control of one of Texas' two seats in the U.S. Senate.
"A vote for James Talarico is not just a vote for his radical agenda. It is a vote for a guy you’ve heard of, [Senate Democratic Leader] Chuck Schumer [of New York], to run the Senate," Paxton said. "It is a vote for every dangerous idea that Democrats across this country are putting forward right now. So, I’m not exaggerating when I say if we lose Texas, we lose America. That’s what we’re fighting for."
Paxton called on voters not only to volunteer and support him at the polls but to pray for him and to pray for Texas, returning to the themes of religion and interpretations of Christianity that have dominated much of both his and Talarico’s campaigns. He accused Talarico of supporting the most radical agenda of any candidate to run statewide in Texas' history. And he led the audience in cheering on his own agenda.
"Do you believe that faith matters? I do too," Paxton said. "Do you believe in secure elections and want the SAVE America Act passed? I do too. Do you believe in protecting Texas and stopping Sharia law? I do too. Do you believe that parents, not the government, should raise your children? I do too. And do you believe that you and your family should keep more of your hard-earned money? Yes. Then join us in this fight."
The next day, Halloween, crowds packed Houston's Bayou Music Center to hear from Talarico. The speakers warming up the crowd for the Democratic Senate nominee included U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee from Texas' 18th Congressional District and State Rep. Gina Hinojosa — the Democratic nominee for governor, who is challenging Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott.
Talarico leaned into his populist message, repeating that his campaign was about protecting the less fortunate from wealthy interests seeking to buy Texas government in general and the state's open Senate seat in particular. He repeatedly called out three billionaires who have regularly donated to Paxton or groups supporting Paxton: Elon Musk, Tim Dunn, and Farris Wilks.
"They know that when we win this seat, I’m going to vote to ban corporate PACs and super PACs, so billionaires can’t buy our elections," Talarico said, outlining his anticorruption plan. "They know that I’m going to vote to ban gerrymandering in every state in the union, red states and blue states. And they know that I’m going to vote to pass term limits so we can show these puppet politicians the door."
As Paxton accused Talarico repeatedly of being too radical for Texas, Talarico hammered Paxton for allegedly having enriched himself in office and having been impeached by Texas' Republican-led state House of Representatives.
"This is the rot at the core of this broken political system," Talarico said. "It’s why so many Texans can’t get ahead, no matter how hard they work, no matter how much they save and stretch. It’s why we can’t afford the basics in this economy: gas, groceries, health care. It’s because the system has been rigged by billionaires and crooked politicians like Ken Paxton."
And as Paxton invoked his audience's faith and called on them to pray for him, Talarico invoked the biblical story of David and Goliath.
"David wasn’t as big or as strong as Goliath," Talarico said. "He didn’t have as many weapons. But he had hope. He had faith. And he had a slingshot. Houston, you are my slingshot. The people of Texas are my slingshot. And on Nov. 3rd, those Goliaths aren’t going to know what hit them."
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