Republicans Play Catch Up on Affordability
as Crockett Doubts Talarico Really Leading
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August 5, 2026
As Governor Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton sought to reinvent themselves on an affordability issue that propelled James Talarico to the inside track in a critical U.S. Senate race, Democrat Jasmine Crockett suggested that her former primary rival's lead in the fight at the top of the ticket here is an illusion.
A congressional member who'd run as the Democratic primary favorite in the Senate race before losing to the eventual nominee by 6 points in the first round vote in March, reiterated her doubts on Talarico's viability in an exchange with NBC News reporter Sahil Kapur on Tuesday at an event where they crossed paths in St. Louis.
“When I look at the money, if Republicans start spending money in Texas, then I'll be convinced," Crockett said - according to a Kapur post on X on Wednesday. " But right now, national Republicans decided they wanted to dump money into North Carolina, as well as Georgia. That's where they're fighting, and national Democrats have not decided to dump money into Texas either. I look at: where does the NRSC stand? Where does DSCC stand? Right now, neither one are investing, which tells me that their internals are saying the same thing. So it looks like status quo."
But Crockett indicated that she would reserve judgment on her ex-foe's odds until the final month or so before the general election on November 3 before she's ready to make a prediction on the outcome of the Paxton-Talarico bout. "I won't get on the ground to really start to feel it until maybe end of September, October, as I start to dig into which races I'm going to help out in, the races that I really feel like we can win,” the U.S. representative from Dallas told Kapur.
Crockett expressed her skepticism on Talarico earlier this summer after indicating in the wake of the primary defeat that she'd put the pain of losing behind and be on board with the nominee's campaign for the duel with Paxton this fall. While some Democrats have speculated that Crockett has a case of sour grapes that she is having trouble getting over, it's conceivable she could be setting the stage for a rescue ride on Talarico's behalf if the contest is still close in the stretch.
But Crockett's argument on the national parties' involvement up to now in the Texas Senate race could be shaky by failing to take into account the fact that Talarico has raised enough money to be competitive without the need to depend on massive infusions from the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee or other sources at the national level.
Federal Election Commission records show that Talarico raked in $66 million by June 30 in his first 10 months as a Senate candidate. Paxton - in dramatic contrast - only raised $9 million by the end of June after entering the contest several months before Talarico emerged as a contender. A super PAC that backs Talarico has rounded up substantially more campaign cash for the Senate race in Texas than a competing committee that's supporting the state attorney general for the post.
While Crockett is not convinced that Talarico can win, Abbott and Paxton are clearly worried that he can based on separate plans they released this week with the aim of tackling a cost-of-living crisis that they ignored until the Democrat seized the lead in the Senate contest here in the past six weeks or so.
Abbott unveiled a Keep Texas Affordable plan on Wednesday in a move that he says would reduce the cost of housing here by stopping local mandates that make the prices go up while expanding the supply of homes that are available to prospective buyers.
“One thing that is driving up the cost of housing is local government regulations that undermine housing affordability reforms,” Abbott said in a statement on the proposal. “Going forward, any city or county violating the law will have its sales tax revenue withheld, including those who skirted the housing reform laws I signed last session. We will also protect the right of Texans to build additions on their own property.”
The governor does not have the authority to put his affordability proposals into effect in the absence of legislation that he would expect GOP lawmakers to pass for him when they meet again in 2027. Abbott made a vow to eliminate property taxes that fund the public schools center stage in his campaign for a fourth term as the top Texas leader. But Abbott has wrapped the push to slash property taxes into the affordability proposal as one of five points that include freezing tuition and fees at state colleges and universities, a roof fortification program, lower car insurance costs for the safest drivers, health coverage and a cap on the prices for "life-saving" medication.
Abbott has offered no comment on the offsetting effect that President Donald Trump's order that cuts Medicare funding for prescription drugs for seniors could have on the affordability plan in the Lone State State. Paxton, who's wrapped himself in the president at a time when he's historically unpopular, has been mum on the Trump mandate on Medicare subsidies for medications that senior citizens depend on.
But Paxton is playing catch-up on affordability as well after touting a tax deduction plan for homeowners on Tuesday night at a rally that his campaign says 700 supporters attended in the Collin County suburb of Allen at a Mexican restaurant that has a maximum capacity of 160 in the banquet room and patio combined according to its web site. Paxton's camp said that the AG drew more than 700 people to another recent event where the actual turnout appeared to be around 100.
Paxton gave Talarico fresh ammunition to use against him when he told his audience last night at Matt's Rancho Martinez that he's fighting to ensure that Texans can afford to own a home, raise a family and afford to pay the health care bills they accumulate. That gave Talarico another hook to hit Paxton again on a $12 million real estate portfolio that the Democrat says the Republican has compiled with 15 homes in locations such as Hawaii, Florida and Utah while making a government salary for a dozen years as the state AG.
Paxton gave Democrats another opportunity to remind voters about his impeachment on corruption charges in the Texas House in 2023 when one of the Republicans who served as prosecutors in a Senate trial - State Rep. Jeff Leach of Allen - introduced him at the event in Collin County on Tuesday. Leach delivered a closing argument for the House GOP leadership during the impeachment trial - telling senators who were jurists how he and Paxton had been extremely close friends before he sensed that the attorney general was breaking bad when he quit communicating with him the way they had. Leach and another Republican at the event in Allen, State Rep. Matt Shaheen of Plano, both backed longtime incumbent John Cornyn for re-election before his elimination in May in a primary runoff election by the state lawyer who they accused of bribery, abuse of office and cheating on his wife and are urging voters to send to the U.S. Senate now.
While Abbott and Paxton played catch-up on affordability, Talarico kicked off a New American Dream Tour on Wednesday with an opening stop in Arlington. Talarico's 11-city swing that's slated to end on September 1 in San Antonio also includes events in blue meccas like the Austin, Dallas and Houston areas. But Talarico has events set in rural locations that are dark red like Beeville and Kerrville and mid-size cities that are heavily Republican like Port Arthur, Abilene and Killeen.
more to come ...
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