The U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over Democrat James Talarico for Senate, praising his record on free enterprise, energy, and legal reform.
The Hill reported that the long-standing business group announced its support for Paxton in the state’s battleground U.S. Senate contest ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Neil Bradley, the Chamber’s executive vice president and chief policy officer, framed the pick in clear terms tied to growth, taxes, and the courts.
The endorsement lands in a race already rated a toss-up, where Paxton has struggled to pull ahead after ousting Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary runoff in May.
Decision Desk HQ, a partner of The Hill, has called the contest a coin flip that narrowly favors Democrats, giving Talarico a 54 percent chance of flipping the seat.
Bradley put the Chamber’s reasons on the record without hedging.
"The choice is clear in Texas. Attorney General Ken Paxton has been a defender of free enterprise and the pro-growth policies that empower American businesses to thrive,"
He continued that Paxton had pushed back against federal overreach while protecting Texas’ economic model.
"He has pushed back against federal overreach, helped preserve a low-tax environment, and defended the energy sector from burdensome mandates."
Bradley also tied prosperity to the courts and promised future work on lawsuit limits.
"Paxton understands that true economic prosperity relies on a fair and predictable justice system. We look forward to working together on meaningful legal reform that shields job creators from lawsuit abuse and red tape,"
That language tracks what business groups usually want from a senator: lower taxes, fewer mandates on oil and gas, and less exposure to abusive litigation.
Paxton entered the general election after defeating Cornyn in the May runoff with a Trump endorsement behind him.
The Cook Political Report moved the race to a “toss-up” in August, away from a clearer Republican lean.
Coverage of the Texas Senate race stays a dead heat has focused on turnout and whether Paxton can consolidate support across the state.
Talarico has hammered Paxton on his record as the state’s top prosecutor, including the 2023 impeachment by the Texas House.
The state Senate later acquitted Paxton. That acquittal remains the formal end of the process, even as Democrats keep raising it on the trail.
A separate look at how a CBS poll finds Paxton and Talarico locked in a tight contest underscored how little daylight either side has claimed so far.
The Chamber has been active for more than a century and rarely treats Senate endorsements as casual signals.
Its statement presents Paxton as the candidate who will protect job creators from red tape and lawsuit abuse, priorities that matter in a state built on energy and private enterprise.
Paxton has also faced internal campaign stress. In audio shared by The New York Times, he contended that his appearance at the GOP’s midterm convention “dropped our numbers.”
Reporting on how Ken Paxton frets he lost grip on the race has tracked those same concerns about outside players and momentum.
Outside money has already entered the picture on his side. One major super PAC infusion was detailed when MAGA Inc. drops $10 million into the Texas Senate bid as the fundraising gap drew fresh attention.
Talarico has offered no public reply to the Chamber endorsement in the available reporting. His campaign has instead kept pressure on Paxton’s prosecutorial record and the impeachment episode.
The Chamber and the Trump administration clashed earlier this year over tariffs applied against nearly every country.
Last year the Chamber filed an amicus brief arguing the president was overstepping statutory authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and causing “irreparable harm to businesses of all sizes.”
The Supreme Court later ruled the tariffs unlawful and rejected the expanded use of that law. After the decision, Bradley said the Chamber encouraged the administration to reset tariff policy toward greater growth, higher wages, and lower costs for families.
That history shows the Chamber will challenge policies it views as harmful to business. It also shows the group is still willing to endorse a Trump-backed attorney general when the record on taxes, energy, and courts lines up with its agenda.
Paxton’s team has kept pressing the Democrat on the trail, including calls for him to reappear after stretches away from voters, a theme covered when Ken Paxton presses James Talarico for proof of life after a 12-day absence.
None of those campaign skirmishes change the Chamber’s stated reasons. Bradley’s statement rests on free enterprise, low taxes, energy, and legal predictability, not on primary drama or polling snapshots.
Texas remains a national target because a flipped seat would reshape the Senate map. Business groups that care about energy production and lawsuit limits now have a clear institutional marker in the race.
Voters, not trade associations, will decide the outcome. Still, when the country’s premier business lobby chooses the attorney general who fought federal overreach and defended Texas energy, it draws a straight line between economic common sense and the ballot.
