Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. is currently representing the Republican Party in the 2026 US Senate race in Texas , where he will be competing against Democratic nominee James Talarico. With President Donald Trump backing Paxton, Republicans seek to retain the Senate seat in Texas. Having served as an attorney general, he has emerged as a prominent person in Texas politics.
Born in December 1962 in Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, Paxton’s father worked for the United States Air Force. He later attended Baylor University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1985 and an MBA in 1986. He went on to earn his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1991.
Paxton also served as Baylor’s student body president.
His office sent requests for information to more than 20 healthcare providers, insurers and pharmaceutical companies, including UnitedHealthcare and Pfizer . Paxton also took legal actions against COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The race has garnered widespread attention as Texas hasn’t seen an elected Democrat senator since 1988 after Lloyd Bentsen. Talarico will face Paxton on November 3, during the midterm elections. He earned a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Texas and a master’s degree in education policy from Harvard University in 2016.
Paxton also launched an investigation to determine whether doctors or vaccine makers received financial benefits for recommending vaccines for children.
His “Protecting the Texas Promise” plan also proposes tax deductions for healthcare expenses and home purchases, as well as an increased child tax credit. Paxton aligns himself with President Donald Trump’s “America First” legislation that prioritizes American workers and businesses. He said tariffs were not the main issue affecting his campaign and instead pointed to the Iran war , gas prices and diesel costs as greater concerns.
His office represented Texas Governor Greg Abbott in a case challenging the Joe Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for Texas National Guard members. A federal appeals court ruled in favor of Texas, saying that the federal government could not punish non-federalized Guard members for refusing the mandate. Paxton keeps reinforcing his promise of reducing taxes, cutting regulations and keeps encouraging Americans to manufacture more. His campaign promises to create more American jobs and expand domestic energy production. He also promised to restrain government spendings. However, tariffs have not been a major part of his campaign platform. He also earned a Master of Divinity degree from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary while serving in the Texas House of Representatives.
Earlier reporting noted: James Talarico, the former middle school teacher challenging Ken Paxton in Texas Senate race James Dell Talarico is currently in the spotlight as he runs for a US Senate seat from Texas , challenging Republican candidate and state attorney general Ken Paxton. Earlier reporting noted: Talarico attended Wells Branch Elementary School and graduated from McNeil High School.
In 2025, his office launched an investigation on DeepSeek over its privacy practices and possible violations of Texas privacy law.
He also said that decisions made in Washington were outside his control, despite his close association with President Donald Trump. He also acknowledged in the audio that he cannot control or stop the war saying “I don’t make decisions”. Paxton said the investigation was aimed at protecting the personal data of citizens of Texas from potential risks linked to the Chinese AI company.
Paxton faced criticism over his stance on the US-Iran war after a leaked audio from a private meeting showed him saying the war was hurting Republicans in the midterm elections. Publicly, he has defended President Trump’s military action against Iran, saying he believed Iran was close to developing a nuclear weapon. Paxton has also raised concerns about Chinese AI companies and data security. His office also banned DeepSeek from devices used by its employees and sought information about the app from Google and Apple.
