Fort Worth, Texas

Early voting is underway in Texas's midterms through Oct. 30, ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. Gov. Greg Abbott faces Democrat Gina Hinojosa, while in one of the most expensive nonpresidential races on record, Republican Ken Paxton battles Democrat James Talarico for U.S. Senate, with ad spending topping $442 million and Republicans outspending Democrats roughly three to one. Polls, including recent FOX News and New York Times/Siena surveys, have shown Talarico consistently ahead since September, raising the possibility Texas could elect a Democrat statewide for the first time since 1994. Trump made three campaign visits backing Paxton, who faces past fraud indictments and an impeachment acquittal. Prominent Texas attorney Thomas J. Henry, who had previously backed Paxton with a $600,000 super PAC donation, has now endorsed Talarico after meeting with him, a notable crossover in the closely watched contest.

Texas Attorney General and GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton outlined a "Texas first" conditional-support stance on data center development, speaking at a United States Hispanic Business Council event in Fort Worth. Paxton said he backs data centers as essential infrastructure but would require new facilities to generate their own power rather than draw from the grid, use closed-loop water recycling to avoid depleting local supplies, and exclude Chinese hardware and software over national security and AI competition concerns. He also called for siting facilities away from residential areas, citing ample open land in Texas, and voiced support for Gov. Greg Abbott's temporary moratorium while favoring eventual "reasonable restrictions."

Paxton framed data centers as a major economic opportunity, noting Texas already hosts roughly 450 facilities, second only to Virginia. His Democratic opponent, state Rep. James Talarico, has criticized rising utility bills and tax breaks for AI companies, pushing for mandated infrastructure funding, community input, and union jobs. The dueling positions reflect growing voter concern over utility rates, water use and data center siting ahead of the Senate race.
Ken Paxton backs Texas data centers with conditions on power, water and Chinese tech, contrasting with rival James Talarico's regulatory push.

Texas' highest criminal court has ended a nearly decade-long legal battle for Fort Worth resident Crystal Mason, leaving in place a lower court ruling that acquitted her of illegal voting and vacating her 2018 conviction. Mason had been found guilty of illegally casting a provisional ballot in the 2016 election while on supervised release for a federal tax fraud conviction. Her ballot was never counted.

Texas law bars felons from voting until they complete their full sentence, but Mason said she was never informed of that restriction. In March 2024, the Second Court of Appeals ruled that lower courts had failed to require proof she knew voting was a crime. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed to review the case but on Thursday dismissed the state's petition as "improvidently granted" in a 5-4 decision, with four judges dissenting. The court did not rule on how evidence was evaluated below. Mason said she is relieved her "nightmare is over."

Donald Ray McCray, 67, of Dallas has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison after a jury convicted him of mailing threatening communications and a hoax weapon of mass destruction. Prosecutors said McCray sent threatening letters to U.S. district court judges in the Northern District of Texas and the Eastern District of New York, and mailed envelopes containing white powder to the federal courthouse in Fort Worth and to the court clerk in Amarillo while he was incarcerated in a Texas state prison in March 2025.

Officials said the letters threatened to kill state and federal government employees, including judges, and that McCray made further threats at a court hearing after being indicted in June 2025. He will be returned to state custody to face a separate charge of attempted murder of a prison guard. Authorities described the case as an attack on the integrity of the federal judiciary.

Tarrant County, the last large Republican-held county in Texas, has become a focal point of the 2026 midterms as both parties pour resources into the race between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. Democrats narrowly won the county in 2018 and 2020 before Republicans reclaimed it in 2022 and 2024, but a January special-election upset by Democrat Taylor Rehmet reenergized the party ahead of this cycle. Demographic shifts—white residents now under 43% of the population, with Hispanic residents nearly 30%—are fueling projections that Talarico could carry the county by several points.

Tensions have escalated after the GOP-led commissioners court cut polling locations by nearly 30%, a move Democrats call voter suppression and Republicans defend as cost-saving. Ted Cruz rallied Republicans in support of County Judge Tim O'Hare, while Talarico has drawn large crowds with billionaire Mark Cuban and local endorsements crossing party lines. Paxton and allies have spent heavily on ads targeting Talarico, while Democrats emphasize economic frustration and voting-rights concerns as they push to flip a county both sides view as a bellwether for Texas.

Backlash against Flock Safety's license plate reader network continues to widen across the country. In Ohio, Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey has paused use of the county's 75 Flock cameras and payments to the company while seeking answers on data sharing, though she said no misuse occurred among her deputies. In Arizona, Cottonwood became the latest city to suspend Flock use, joining Tempe, Chandler and Pinal County, after community backlash and a statewide review launched by Attorney General Kris Mayes. Cottonwood's city council plans a work session later this month before deciding on the technology's future there.

Florida has gone further, banning local police from placing Flock and similar cameras on state highways and revoking existing permits, after Gov. Ron DeSantis said usage had "gotten out of control." That follows Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's order pausing state funding for the cameras. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found Americans split on Flock, with more opposing than supporting its use, along sharp partisan lines. Flock, which operates roughly 120,000 cameras nationwide, says it supports added privacy safeguards rather than bans. The issue is emerging as a flashpoint in midterm campaigns.

President Donald Trump traveled to Houston to headline a Republican National Committee fundraiser for Ken Paxton's U.S. Senate campaign, marking his first in-person push for the Texas attorney general's bid against Democrat James Talarico. The visit comes as recent polling, including a University of Texas survey, shows Talarico opening a narrow lead after trailing two months earlier. Sen. Ted Cruz has publicly warned that Talarico has a "real chance" of flipping the seat, while Sen. John Cornyn, who lost the GOP primary to Paxton, has criticized Paxton as a lazy, uncompelling candidate.

The race highlights a fundraising gap: Talarico has vastly outspent Paxton on advertising, though GOP ad spending recently overtook Democrats' for the first time. National Republican super PACs, including the Senate Leadership Fund and MAGA Inc., have so far held back major spending on Paxton's behalf, and conservative legal figure Leonard Leo has directed money to other Senate races instead. A pro-Paxton group has begun attack ads against Talarico, while Talarico unveiled a healthcare proposal backed by Mark Cuban. The contest is viewed as a key test of GOP strength in Texas and could affect Senate control.