Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will appear on Montgomery County ballots Nov. 3 as the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate. He faces Democrat James Talarico and Libertarian Ted Brown, according to the Texas secretary of state's certified ballot.
Paxton defeated four-term Sen. John Cornyn in a May 26 primary runoff after receiving an endorsement from President Donald Trump, the Associated Press reported. Cornyn became the first Republican senator from Texas to lose the party's nomination for reelection.
Montgomery County's role
The race carries particular weight in The Woodlands and surrounding Montgomery County. The Houston Chronicle reported that Montgomery County has seen a 40% increase in voter registrations since 2018, adding roughly 135,000 registered voters. In 2024, the county gave Trump his single largest victory margin of any county in the nation, beating Kamala Harris by 139,000 votes with 68% turnout.
"We delivered the biggest (absolute) margin of victory for Ted Cruz when he ran as senator and also President Trump in the last election, so we plan to do the same thing for Paxton," Stephanie Cox, a Republican precinct chair and communications director at the Montgomery County GOP, told the Chronicle.
Montgomery County GOP Chairwoman Gwen Withrow said the party is spending $50,000 on voter guides and running text campaigns to boost turnout, the Chronicle reported.
Experience and background
According to his official attorney general biography, Paxton took office Jan. 5, 2015, after winning election in 2014. He was reelected in 2018 and 2022. He previously represented Texas House District 70 for 10 years and was elected to the Texas Senate in 2012, representing Senate District 8 in Collin and Dallas counties.
Paxton earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and an MBA from Baylor University and a law degree from the University of Virginia. His legal career included work at Strasburger & Price, as in-house counsel for J.C. Penney, and at his own McKinney law practice, according to that biography.
Campaign positions
On his campaign website, Paxton says he would support Trump's agenda, including tax cuts, border security and deportations. He says he supports completing the border wall, protecting gun rights and opposing abortion. He also calls for greater transparency in food and healthcare systems, reduced regulation of energy companies, and a regulatory framework supporting digital assets. These are his stated campaign positions.
Early voting in Montgomery County runs Oct. 19 through Oct. 30, according to Woodlands Online. The George and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Library at 8125 Ashlane Way in The Woodlands is among the county's 10 early voting locations. Election Day polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 3. Voters can find polling details at MontgomeryVotes.org.
