A Tabloid Story Gives Talarico a New Opening to Test Attacks on Paxton

[Celerity]

After a salacious report about Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for Senate in Texas, his Democratic rival, James Talarico, seized on the news — but focused on corruption and affordability.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/us/politics/paxton-talarico-corruption-affordability-texas.html

https://archive.ph/7jjna


Ken Paxton and James Talarico are locked in a competitive race for Senate in Texas. Credit...Antranik Tavitian for The New York Times; Callaghan O'Hare for The New York Times

Do voters in 2026 care about a politician’s affairs or otherwise messy love life? That’s the question Democrats are navigating as they try to defeat Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for Senate in Texas, who overcame a blitz of TV ads from his G.O.P. primary rival assailing him as a “wife cheater” and publicizing his wife’s decision to file for divorce on “biblical grounds.” James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, showed off one answer on Monday, when The Daily Mail published photos and a video of Mr. Paxton traveling with another woman over the weekend to Reykjavik, Iceland. Mr. Paxton is separated from his wife, with the divorce not yet final — but that didn’t discourage the British tabloid from headlining the article “Married Texas Republican caught on video with mistress on secret romantic getaway.”

In a social media post, Mr. Talarico shared the Daily Mail article, seizing on the Iceland vacation to try to portray Mr. Paxton as distant from working-class Americans. “Ken Paxton was impeached for taking bribes from donors,” Mr. Talarico wrote on X late Monday, referring to Mr. Paxton’s 2023 impeachment on corruption charges, of which the State Senate acquitted him. “He became a multi-millionaire on a government salary. He takes lavish vacations in Iceland while Texans can’t afford the basics. Ken Paxton doesn’t serve us — he serves himself.” He did not directly refer to his opponent’s love life. Mr. Paxton did not confirm or deny that he was romantically involved with the woman, and did not respond to a request for comment. His trial for divorce from Angela Paxton, a Texas state senator, was previously set to take place this month but was delayed.

Mr. Talarico’s love life also became fodder for speculation after he revealed on a podcast that he had a girlfriend “of many years” and met her while they worked together. The conservative online publication Current Revolt soon reported that he was dating Brianna Menard, Mr. Talarico’s former chief of staff, who is now a lobbyist at the Texas Medical Association. “After they developed feelings for each other, James’ girlfriend left the office to pursue other opportunities,” the campaign told The Austin American-Statesman in a statement. The dust-up over Mr. Paxton’s vacation came as a New York Times/Siena poll showed the two candidates in a dead heat, with 47 percent of Texas voters supporting each one.

A majority of likely Texas voters saw Mr. Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, as having “good character” and “the right kind of moral values.” In contrast, fewer than 40 percent would say the same about Mr. Paxton, the survey found. In the Republican primary race, Senator John Cornyn lost badly to Mr. Paxton in May despite outspending him by more than $80 million on advertising and slamming him over his scandals. Whether Mr. Talarico can make such attacks stick in solidly red Texas remains an open question. His decision not to directly discuss Mr. Paxton’s rocky marriage may reflect an awareness of American voters’ shifting views, strategists said. Brendan Steinhauser, a Republican strategist in Texas, said that voters had made it clear that they weren’t concerned about candidates’ personal lives.

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