Who Will Save Texas?
- 15 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Nisie
August 28, 2026
Right now, Texas voters are facing some tough challenges. Mortgages and rent are skyrocketing, grocery prices are soaring, and electricity is getting more expensive every month. Texans are being bled dry by necessities alone. To make matters worse, small businesses are suffering too. High inflation, surging property taxes, rising import tariffs, and severe labor shortages driven by recent immigration enforcement are forcing some to close their doors for good. According to research by LendingTree, 4,562 Texas businesses filed for bankruptcy over 12 months ending in March 2026. That is a 41% surge over the previous year's 3,235 filings. Texas now has the third-highest business bankruptcy rate in the nation – this is a massive failure. Worse, Texas was ranked the second-worst state to live in America for 2026, according to CNBC’s annual "Top States for Business" study. Unlike previous midterm elections, this year a lot is at stake. Come November, who will voters choose to “Save Texas”?
Democrat James Talarico is leading Republican Ken Paxton in the midterms, and it is not a shy lead either. According to a new poll from Texas Public Opinion Research, 47 percent of respondents said they would back Talarico if the election occurred that day, while 40 percent went for Paxton. But despite the lead, Democrats still have some major challenges. Paxton has proved he can still rake in the support, even after a contentious primary season. He retained his stronghold over his suburban base, especially in the DFW metroplex counties, giving him a significant voter base. Does Talarico have a chance against incumbent Paxton, or is this a doomed matchup?
Before James Talarico joined politics, he was a teacher; he worked with Teach for America as a sixth-grade middle school English teacher in West San Antonio. After two years of teaching, he became Central Texas executive director for Reasoning Mind, a Texas nonprofit focusing on bringing technology to low-income classrooms. His passion for education inspired him to run; he launched his campaign for the Texas House shortly after incumbent state legislator Larry Gonzales chose not to run for reelection. He won the concurrent special and general elections against Republican nominee Cynthia Flores. He grabbed the media’s attention when he walked the full length of the district to prove his commitment to voters. He was sworn into the Texas House of Representatives on November 20, 2018, and appointed to the Public Education and Juvenile Justice Committees. During his time in office, he was a pioneer in the Texas education system; he supported a bill that would require students who have been suspended from school to have access to coursework still. Another bill he sponsored was written to provide a standardized school recess policy. Governor Greg Abbott vetoed the bills after the legislature passed them, but he did not stop there. Talarico began his political career with a bang, and now has his sights set on the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Will incumbent Ken Paxton get in his way? Maybe so – because like a cat, Paxton always seems to land on all fours, but after a decade of repeated controversy, he may have used up all 9 lives.
Over the last decade, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s career has been defined by a string of high-profile legal battles and scandals. Still, despite ongoing criminal allegations and internal conflict within his office, he has repeatedly won statewide elections and has retained the trust of the Republican Party. His criminal status gained him massive amounts of attention in the media after Paxton was sworn in as Texas Attorney General in January 2015, and then later that summer a Collin County grand jury indicted him on two counts of first-degree felony securities fraud and a third-degree charge for failing to register as an investment adviser regarding a tech startup. It would take years for that case to be resolved, but until then, Paxton enforced conservative policies that would make Republicans forget about the legal trouble. He successfully led a 26-state lawsuit that blocked President Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) policy. He relentlessly attacked the Biden administration by suing to halt various border policies and keep restrictions in place. Then after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Paxton strictly enforced Texas’s near-total abortion ban. He didn’t stop there. Along with the total abortion ban, he sued the federal government many times to block mandates that would require emergency rooms or pharmacies to facilitate reproductive care. In 2023, Ken Paxton agreed to a pretrial agreement with special prosecutors to finally close the 2015 securities fraud case finally. The charges were dismissed after he agreed to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution, complete 100 hours of community service, and take legal ethics classes.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Former Senator James Talarico are two radically different candidates. One wields his power with an iron fist to enforce hardline conservative policies; the other channels his passion into reforms that could reshape the daily lives of all Texans. As the election nears, the stakes have never been higher. Will voters bet on a future defined by change, or will Texas double down on a legacy of controversy?
Sources:
Texas has one of the nation’s highest business bankruptcy rates. Here's why
An analyst points to high interest rates, inflation and softer consumer spending.
By Mia Valdez, Boerne ReporterAug 4, 2026
Timeline: Allegations against Texas AG Ken Paxton through the years
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