The Texas Tribune · Texas Tribune Staff · September 8, 2026
About The Texas Tribune | Staff | Contact | Send a Confidential Tip | Ethics | Republish Our Work | Jobs | Awards | Corrections | Strategic Plan | Downloads | Documents
Our reporting on all platforms will be truthful, transparent and respectful; our facts will be accurate, complete and fairly presented. When we make a mistake — and from time to time, we will — we will work quickly to fully address the error, correcting it within the story, detailing the error on the story page and adding it to this running list of Tribune corrections. If you find an error, email corrections@texastribune.org .
Democrats kicked off their counter programming to the Republican convention in Dallas on Wednesday with a news conference featuring Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a widely anticipated 2028 presidential contender, and Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder. The presser was the first in a series of planned Democratic events this week meant to counter the GOP convention.
Pritzker and Scudder both bashed what they called the GOP’s corruption and lack of action to improve everyday people’s lives, along with the mid-decade push to gerrymander congressional lines in their favor.
“This bizarre Republican midterm convention here can’t paper over the fact that Republicans have done nothing to earn your vote,” Pritzker said. “In this moment, when America needs a new generation of leaders, fighters willing to stand up against tyranny, Texas Democrats have stepped into the breach.”
Pritzker, who hosted Texas House Democrats in Illinois last summer when they staged a walkout to delay passage of the state’s new congressional map, credited the lawmakers for kicking off the national resistance to the GOP’s redistricting effort.
After sounding a note of praise for the Democratic nominees for U.S. Senate and governor, James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa, Pritzker disparaged Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz — “each one a poster child for bad governance, bad morals and bad vibes, respectively.”
Pritzker sidestepped a question about whether a new PAC he launched would funnel money to help Talarico’s bid, saying he supported Talarico’s campaign along with those of other Texas Democrats on the ballot. The PAC has announced plans to spend in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District opposing the Republican nominee, gun rights activist Brandon Herrera.
Democratic candidate for Tarrant County Judge Alisa Simmons and Houston Controller Chris Hollins also spoke at the news conference, emphasizing the need for voters to pay attention to down-ballot races.
“Tarrant County is the epicenter of Trump’s Project 2025,” Simmons said as country music blared from the convention center venue next door. “While these people are in town partying — I keep hearing the music — we are out fighting. We’re knocking on doors or on the phones, and we are encouraging people to look at the party who is about their business, who knows what the mission is.”
Texas Democrats have been in the wilderness since 2018, when Beto O’Rourke came within a few points of unseating Sen. Ted Cruz. But after years of proclaiming that Texas was on the verge of turning blue, Democrats appear to have a genuine shot this year in James Talarico’s Senate bid against Republican Ken Paxton.
The race has attracted plenty of national attention, most recently around the question of whether President Donald Trump and other Republicans in Washington will ride to Paxton’s defense. The attorney general has been outspent and trailed by narrow margins in most polls, putting the GOP in jeopardy of losing its first statewide race since 1994.
Here are several Texas Tribune stories from recent weeks to catch you up on the latest twists and turns in what’s emerged as one of the nation’s marquee midterm races. And make sure to check out our polling and campaign finance trackers.
MAGA Inc. cavalry arrives for Paxton in Texas Senate as Trump’s PAC places $10 million ad buy , by Gabby Birenbaum
Elon Musk’s super PAC starts spending to boost Ken Paxton in Texas , by Will Hammann
John Cornyn is raising money for competitive Senate races — just not in Texas , by Gabby Birenbaum
Talarico floods Texas airwaves in U.S. Senate race as Paxton, GOP stay quiet , by Gabby Birenbaum
Ken Paxton omits rental income and mortgages from financial disclosures, obscuring his wealth , by Zach Despart, Kayla Guo and Alexandra Glorioso, via The Texas Tribune and ProPublica
And finally, the Tribune’s coverage of the candidates’ dueling affordability plans:
Ken Paxton unveils economic plan centered on tax breaks in U.S. Senate race , by Gabby Birenbaum
James Talarico rolls out economic agenda that takes aim at “false Gospel of trickle-down economics” , by Kayla Guo
The Republican National Committee announced its schedule for speeches from the convention stage, which features prominent Texas politicians on both nights in Dallas.
The first Texan to hit the stage will be Heather Washburne, a co-chair of the Dallas 2026 Host Committee who has long been active in Dallas Republican circles. Following her in the 3 p.m. hour of the convention Wednesday will be Prestonwood Baptist Church Senior Pastor Jack Graham, who was a member of Sen. John Cornyn’s Faith Advisory Council during the Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate. Attorney General Ken Paxton is a member of the Plano-based church.
Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, and her brother Carlos De La Cruz, the GOP candidate for San Antonio-based Congressional District 35, will also address the convention in the 3 p.m. hour Wednesday. Both are in competitive, majority-Hispanic South Texas congressional races that Democrats are hoping to flip in November.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, a former state representative from the Dallas area, will also speak in the first hour.
U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Flower Mound, a freshman lawmaker and rising GOP star, will kick off the 5 p.m. hour. Later in the hour, National Border Patrol Council President Paul Perez — who endorsed Cornyn but quickly backed Paxton after the runoff and introduced the attorney general at a rally in McAllen — will take the stage.
Perez will be followed by Paxton himself. Running in a competitive race, many of the biggest names at the convention — and especially President Donald Trump himself — are working to help Paxton defeat James Talarico, including via fundraising and ad spending on his behalf.
Speakers in the 6 p.m. hour — and subsequent ones — will be competing with the NFL. The 2026 season kicks off at 6:20 p.m. with a rematch of last season’s Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.
Wednesday will close with a keynote address from Trump in the 8 p.m. hour.
Thursday will open with Washburne again, as well as Senior Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas. Jeffress was a member of Cornyn’s Faith Advisory Council, as well.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s speech will close the 3 p.m. hour Thursday.
In the 4 p.m. hour, convention-goers will hear from two more South Texas congressional candidates in tight races — Eric Flores in the 34th Congressional District and Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina in the 28th Congressional District. Both are running against Democratic incumbents who have previously held their seats even as Trump won them in 2024, but which were redrawn to contain more Trump voters.
Sen. Ted Cruz, who will become the state’s senior senator come 2027 and is a potential presidential candidate, will close out the hour.
Gov. Greg Abbott will speak in the 5 p.m. hour, which will also feature a tribute to conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Finally, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, a former Democrat turned Republican, will speak in the 7 p.m. hour. Vice President JD Vance and Trump will close the convention out Thursday.
Editor’s note: This post has been updated to reflect the correct time zone for Trump’s Wednesday keynote and for the speakers slated for the 5 p.m. hour.
Attorney General Ken Paxton rolled out an AI-generated ad aimed at convention watchers Tuesday, highlighting controversial comments his opponent James Talarico has made, alongside a fundraising appeal.
The ad features an AI-generated Talarico coloring in a Bible and saying altered versions of the Austin Democrat’s past comments about his interpretation of Christianity. Republicans have seized on many of these remarks throughout Talarico’s U.S. Senate run.
“In the beginning, God was nonbinary, and he wasn’t a Christian — and God said, let there be six genders,” the AI-generated version of Talarico says in the ad.
Talarico said in a 2021 speech that God is nonbinary, which he characterized later as a provocative comment meant to indicate that God is beyond gender. In a debate over transgender athletes in the Texas House in 2021, Talarico said, “modern science recognizes that there are many more than two biological sexes — in fact, there are six.”
The Democrat referred to the comments Republicans have clipped as “cringey” earlier this year, saying some “missed the mark.”
The 30-second spot includes a QR code in the corner linking to Paxton’s WinRed fundraising page. The Republican has significantly lagged Talarico in both fundraising and campaign spending; Paxton raised $9 million in the second quarter of 2026 to Talarico’s $30 million.
Paxton’s campaign said the ad will air nationwide on Newsmax, a conservative television network, during the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas.
“His views are an insult to millions of faithful Texans, and it’s time for his extremist views to be exposed,” the attorney general said in a statement.
Republicans are gathering in Dallas this week for their first ever midterm convention, putting Texas at the center of the political world during the state’s most competitive election cycle in years.
The two-day gathering, at the American Airlines Center on the edge of downtown, will feature Texas’ top GOP elected officials and candidates, including Attorney General Ken Paxton, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Republican nominees in key battleground districts will also address the convention, as will President Donald Trump, who is closing out both nights — Wednesday and Thursday — with speeches.
National Republicans have branded the event as a “Trumpapalooza,” with a clear goal of energizing GOP voters during a difficult midterm environment — especially the MAGA types who have proven unreliable when Trump is not on the ballot. Republicans are also hoping to stock their campaign coffers during the convention, with five-figure ticket costs and fundraisers throughout the week.
Read more from the Tribune’s story previewing the event.
Choose an amount or learn more about membership .
Never miss a story with The Brief, our free newsletter.
Marjorie Taylor Greene opens, John Fetterman closes
The Brief, our morning newsletter, turns what our reporters see and hear across the state into what you should know.