Find articles

The close Senate race between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton in Texas has unsettled conservatives used to three decades of statewide political dominance.

Just days into early voting, Texans are turning out at higher rates than in the 2022 midterms. Who shows up to vote might determine who controls the U.S. Senate.

The Senate candidate denounced opponent Ken Paxton, calling out corruption allegations and support from Musk James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for the US Senate in Texas, has taken aim at Elon Musk, warning that the tech mogul is trying to buy political influence and declaring: “Texas is not for sale.” Talarico held a campaign rally on Friday at the University of Texas at Austin, packing an auditorium at his alma mater with hundreds of students and other supporters, who cheered, whooped and waved campaign signs. Continue reading...

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) are living out their midterm nightmares — with nominees they didn't want and former colleagues they no longer control. Why it matters: Together, Schumer and Thune are stuck with five Senate races in which their party establishments thought they had a better chance of winning with someone else. 🤠 Texas: Thune's efforts to stop Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from winning the party's Senate nomination failed. Now Republicans are spending more than $329 million to defeat state Rep. James Talarico— and it's still a nail-biter. 🍑 Georgia: GOP leaders couldn't convince Gov. Brian Kemp to run. The eventual nominee, Rep. Mike Collins, has struggled to keep pace with fundraising juggernaut Sen. Jon Ossoff (D). GOP money is in retreat. 🦞 Maine: Schumer endorsed Gov. Janet Mills, but Graham Platner's implosion left Democrats with backup Troy Jackson against Sen. Susan Collins. ⛴️ Michigan: Abdul El-Sayed defeated Rep. Haley Stevens and made a name for himself nationally. But he won by just one point even though primary polls showed him up by double digits. He's now polling within the margin of error against the GOP nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers. 🏈 Minnesota: Peggy Flanagan ran as a progressive, said she would not support Schumer as leader and bested establishment-backed Rep. Angie Craig. But Cook Political Report moved her race against former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya toward Republicans even as it shifted other races toward Democrats. To make matters worse, Thune's and Schumer's former colleagues are creating fresh headaches by boosting candidates across the aisle. Former Sen. Joe Manchin, who flipped to independent in 2024 after being elected as a Senate Democrat, is campaigning for Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), as Semafor reported. Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema , who also flipped from Democrat to independent before leaving office, is boosting Republican Jay Feely in her home House district. She even voted for him in the GOP primary, as Axios scooped. Former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) endorsed Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) in his reelection this summer. The other side : In two red states, Schumer landed arguably the best candidates he could get. Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper has all but put North Carolina to bed, and former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is keeping it too close for Sen. Jon Husted's comfort in Ohio.

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico hit back at Elon Musk, accusing the technology mogul of trying to "buy his own personal" senator through massive campaign donations for Talarico's opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). "There is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal U.S. Senator,"...

Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton are virtually tied in Texas' closely watched U.S. Senate race, according to an Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey released Thursday.

Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton are in a dead heat for the Senate in Texas, according to new polling of one of the cycle’s most closely watched contests. Talarico notched 48 percent to Paxton’s 46 percent in new numbers from Emerson College Polling and The Hill, a result within the poll's margin of...

Musk has emerged as a key financial backer of outside groups supporting Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, while publicly attacking his Democratic rival on X.

Republican Neil Bush says he was ‘deeply troubled’ by Ken Paxton’s conduct and ‘enormously impressed’ with Talarico US politics live – latest updates Neil Bush, a son of former president George HW Bush and a lifelong Republican, announced on Tuesday that he crossed party lines to vote for James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Texas. In a Facebook post, Neil Bush said he chose to vote early for Talarico over Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate and current Texas attorney general, because he was “deeply troubled” by Paxton’s conduct and was “enormously impressed” by Talarico’s principles. Continue reading...