State Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican from McKinney, and state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat from Austin, are in a tight race to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. Heading into Election Day, both candidates have traveled throughout the state to court voters, sometimes holding competing rallies in the same city.
They wrapped up their campaigns in their hometowns, with Paxton speaking to supporters in Allen on Nov. 2 and Talarico in Austin. On Nov. 3, Talarico is hosting an election night watch party in downtown Austin, while Paxton is holding an event in North Dallas.
Community Impact will provide live coverage of the events, with State Reporter Hannah Norton at Talarico's Austin event and Editorial Intern Caleb Gottry at Paxton's Dallas party.
In Round Rock, two statewide Libertarian candidates—Ted Brown, an Austinite who is running for U.S. Senate, and Pat Dixon, a Lago Vista resident seeking the governor's office—are scheduled to appear at an election night event hosted by the Travis and Williamson county Libertarian Parties.
Keep reading to get the details on the competitive U.S. Senate race, then check back for live updates to this article as polls close at 7 p.m. and election results begin rolling in. For more election coverage, visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide.
The candidates
The winner of the Nov. 3 election will replace Sen. John Cornyn, who has spent 24 years representing Texas in the U.S. Senate and lost his reelection bid to Paxton earlier this year. Each state has two U.S. senators, and the senator-elect will work alongside Republican Ted Cruz.
Talarico, a 37-year-old former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, was elected to the Texas House in 2018. House lawmakers serve two-year terms, meaning Talarico will not continue serving in the legislature regardless of the outcome of the U.S. Senate race.
The Austin Democrat has campaigned on promises to address the cost of living and "get big money out of politics." His campaign website also highlights policy platforms related to public education, healthcare, data centers and public safety.
Paxton, 63, is an attorney and former state legislator. He was elected attorney general in 2014 after spending 12 years in the Texas House and Senate. The attorney general's office is also on the Nov. 3 ballot, and Paxton will not remain in that role next year.
Paxton was impeached by House lawmakers in 2023 and later cleared of 16 charges by state senators, Community Impact reported. He has run on an endorsement from President Donald Trump and his record of suing the Biden administration. The Republican's campaign website lists priorities surrounding border security, spending cuts and "conservative values."
Brown is a former insurance adjuster who has campaigned on plans to reduce government involvement in Texans' lives, cut federal spending, end U.S. involvement in foreign wars and promote "individual liberty."
Brown also ran for U.S. Senate in 2024, securing about 2% of the vote while incumbent Cruz won 53% of the vote and then-U.S. Rep. Colin Allred received 45%, per state election records. In 2018, Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Neal Dikeman received less than 1% of the vote to Cruz's 51% and Democrat Beto O'Rourke's 48%.
In August, Talarico told Community Impact his top priority was to "tackle corruption to bring down costs for working people," while Paxton said he would prioritize "lowering costs, restoring the American Dream and keeping Texas a safe place." Brown said he was in favor of policies based on "personal freedom, economic freedom, digital privacy [and] anti-foreign military intervention." Read Community Impact's full Q&A with the three candidates here.
As of Oct. 30, Texas' U.S. Senate race is the most expensive non-presidential race in the nation's recorded history, with candidates and outside groups spending $573 million on advertising, according to the ad tracking firm AdImpact.
Some history
Republicans currently hold all statewide seats on the ballot, and no Democrat or third-party candidate has won a statewide office in Texas since 1994, election records show.
Texans last elected a Democratic U.S. senator 38 years ago, when then-incumbent Sen. Lloyd Bentsen won reelection in 1988, per congressional records. Bentsen resigned in 1993 to become U.S. treasury secretary and was replaced by Bob Krueger, a Democrat who later lost a special election for the seat.
Stay tuned
Community Impact will update this article as vote totals from early voting, mail voting and Election Day are released. All results are unofficial until canvassed.
Visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide to see results from federal, state and local races in more than 70 Texas communities.
