Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico are making Christianity a defining issue in the home stretch of Texas’ U.S. Senate race, offering sharply different visions of what faith should mean in American political life. The divide included the launch of competing faith coalitions.
The attorney general's "Pastors for Paxton" featured 27 faith leaders, largely from evangelical, charismatic and nondenominational churches, while Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, organized "Faithful Texans for Talarico" to include Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other religious voters. The broader question at the heart of the competing coalitions is not whether faith matters, but whose vision of Christianity will resonate with Texas voters in one of the nation's most competitive and closely watched Senate races, with control of the chamber potentially hanging in the balance. Newsweek reached out to both campaigns for comment.
The emphasis on faith comes with unusual scrutiny for Paxton, whose political career has been shadowed by legal and personal controversies. The 63-year-old has served as Texas attorney general since 2015, building a national profile as one of the country's most prominent conservative legal figures through challenges to Democratic administrations on immigration, abortion, election law and religious liberty. He defeated four-term U.S.
Senator John Cornyn in this year's GOP primary, despite concerns that he was a deeply troubled candidate who had been impeached by the Republican-led Texas House in 2023 on allegations of corruption and abuse of office, before being acquitted by the state Senate. Additionally, his estranged wife, state Senator Angela Paxton, later cited adultery as grounds in their divorce filing. Despite years of legal and personal controversies, Paxton has retained strong support among many conservative Christian voters and remains one of President Donald Trump's most loyal allies in Texas.
Trump has repeatedly praised Paxton as one of the country's leading attorneys general and rewarded that loyalty with a high-profile endorsement in the Senate race, though he jokingly described him as "a pain in the ass" at a Texas campaign rally earlier this month. In a June 25 interview on Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick's podcast, Paxton reflected on his 2023 impeachment and other battles that have marked his political career. I’m here because God delivered me,” he said.
"Pastors for Paxton" has taken its message onto the campaign trail. Several members joined Paxton in Rockwall for the start of his “Come and Take It” bus tour, with the campaign saying coalition members would lead their communities in prayer ahead of Election Day. Roche Coleman, senior pastor of Impact Church of The Woodlands, told Newsweek he did not join "Pastors for Paxton" and does not publicly endorse political candidates.
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