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By Jordan King
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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico said Thursday that 21 current and former Republican officials and party figures are endorsing his campaign against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in Texas.
“We’re bringing Texans together onto one team to take power back for working people,” Talarico wrote in the announcement. “Because the real fight in this country isn’t left versus right—it’s top versus bottom.”
Talarico, a state representative and Presbyterian seminarian, is facing Paxton in the November 3 general election for a Texas seat Republicans have long regarded as safely theirs. Both campaigns have moved quickly to define the race, with Talarico emphasizing allegations of corruption against Paxton and Republicans portraying the Democrat as out of step with Texan voters.
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The endorsements mark the launch of “Republicans for Talarico,” a campaign coalition comprising current and former Republican officeholders, judges, party delegates and political advisers who have crossed party lines to back the Democrat. The campaign described the 21 people named in Thursday’s announcement, published in Texas Metro News, as the group’s “founding members."
Some of the Republicans said their support was motivated largely by Paxton’s conduct, rather than not supporting the Republican Party, while also praising Talarico’s character and willingness to work across party lines.
Paxton was impeached by the Republican-controlled Texas House in 2023 over allegations that he abused his office to assist political donor and real estate developer Nate Paul. The Texas Senate later acquitted him of all 16 articles considered at trial, and Paxton has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. A separate federal investigation ended without charges in 2024.
“As a Republican, I believe in faith, family, the rule of law, and holding public officials accountable when they betray the public trust. I will support plenty of Republicans this November, but I cannot vote for Ken Paxton,” said Bryan Mayor Pro Tem James Edge. "James Talarico has demonstrated that he is willing to listen, work across party lines, and put Texas and our country first. As a lifelong conservative Republican, I’m proud to support him this November.”
Newsweek reached out to Paxton's campaign via email for comment.
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Who Are the Republicans Endorsing James Talarico?
- James Edge: Bryan city councilman and mayor pro tem; former Texas GOP convention delegate
- Jimmie Don Aycock: Former Texas state representative for District 54; former GOP convention delegate
- Steve Bartlett: Former Dallas mayor and former U.S. representative for Texas’ 3rd Congressional District
- Dorothy Burton: Former Duncanville mayor pro tem and city councilwoman
- Ryan Davenport: Former GOP convention delegate
- Donna Halstead: Former Dallas city councilwoman
- Deborah Hankinson: Retired Texas Supreme Court justice and former judge on the state’s 5th Court of Appeals
- Kimberly Priest Johnson: Retired U.S. magistrate judge in the Eastern District of Texas and former special assistant U.S. attorney
- Susan Lewis King: Former Texas state representative for District 71
- Adam Kinzinger: Former U.S. representative from Illinois and current Texas resident
- David Maxwell: Former Texas Ranger and former director of the Texas attorney general’s Law Enforcement Division
- Shane Phelps: Former deputy Texas attorney general under John Cornyn and former Brazos County first assistant district attorney
- Tom Phillips: Retired chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court and former Harris County district court judge
- Bennett Ratliff: Former Texas state representative for District 115
- Jim Richards: Former Dallas city councilman
- Dale Ross: Former Georgetown mayor and city councilman
- Andrew Sansom: Former executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, former special assistant to the U.S. interior secretary and former GOP convention delegate
- Todd Smith: Former Texas state representative for District 92
- Lionel Sosa: Former Republican campaign adviser whose clients included Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush
- Alan Steelman: Former U.S. representative for Texas’ 5th Congressional District and former Republican U.S. Senate nominee
- Glen Whitley: Former Tarrant County judge and county commissioner
What Do the Polls Show?
Recent polling shows that the race remains close, although the latest survey gave Talarico a slight advantage.
An N+ Univision/YouGov poll conducted from August 27 to September 4 found Talarico leading Paxton by 48 percent to 43 percent among 1,000 registered Texas voters, with 7 percent undecided. It had no traditional margin of error, but its equivalent margin was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
Similarly, an Overton Insights poll for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, conducted from August 24 to 26, placed Talarico at 44 percent and Paxton at 43.4 percent among 1,167 likely voters. The candidates were tied at 50 percent after undecided voters were asked which way they leaned. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
Those findings followed an Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media survey conducted August 9 and 10, in which Paxton led Talarico 47 percent to 46 percent. The poll questioned 1,000 likely voters and had a credibility interval, comparable to a margin of error, of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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Republican Staffers Cross Party Lines
The Republican endorsements of Talarico follow two recent cases in which longtime GOP staffers joined Democratic Senate campaigns in traditionally Republican states.
Talarico’s campaign hired Jacob Smith, who spent five years working for Republican Senator John Cornyn as a deputy legislative director and policy adviser.
“I’ve worked for Republicans like Senator Cornyn my entire career, but this year I’m proud to be joining James Talarico’s campaign,” Smith said. He praised Talarico’s focus on working people while sharply criticizing Paxton’s record.
In Kansas, Austin Gilpin, a former Kansas Republican Party staffer who worked for GOP Representative Ron Estes, joined Democratic Senate candidate Adam Hamilton’s campaign. Gilpin criticized Republican Senator Roger Marshall’s party loyalty and said Hamilton would seek common ground on issues affecting Kansas residents.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and Sam Wilson.
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