Texas Republican stuns with blunt new ad: Paxton 'should never' be senator

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at the 2024 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)

A new commercial is airing that features a former Texas Republican lawmaker who made it clear he would "never" vote for Attorney General Ken Paxton.

CNN reported Wednesday that former state Rep. Glenn Rogers says in a new 30-second ad from James Talarico's U.S. Senate campaign super PAC, “I’ll never trust Ken Paxton, I’ll never support Ken Paxton and the last place he should be is the United States Senate."

Rogers is far from a left-leaning Republican. He's a rancher and veterinarian from outside of Fort Worth and has long been a critic of the direction the Republican Party has taken in his state. Gov. Greg Abbott ran against Rogers in the 2024 GOP primary after Rogers refused to support school vouchers.

"The ad will run statewide on digital and streaming platforms as part of the group’s eight-figure effort in the general election," CNN reported, citing a spokesperson for the political action committee. "It comes as Democrats confront a spike in outside GOP spending in recent days, suddenly giving Paxton’s side a huge advertising advantage in the closing weeks of the tight race."

New polling numbers from Texas put the race at a tie, but Fox7 in Austin said there appears to be a growing problem for Paxton. The new survey from Texas Southern's Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center shows, "more than a quarter of those who identified themselves as moderate republicans said they plan to 'break ranks; and vote for the Democrat."

It comes as Talarico continues to draw more support from independents.

Republicans appear to be panicking, dumping buckets of cash into the Paxton race after the AG appeared to be lacking in fundraising. His former GOP opponent, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) warned that Paxton is too "lazy" to fund raise.

The Texas Tribune reported Tuesday that GOP-aligned groups have put in more than $140 million for the struggling Paxton. That total includes about $100 million from the Senate Leadership Fund’s Texas PAC, more than $19 million from Lone Star Liberty PAC and more than $16 million from MAGA Inc.

CNN noted that Talarico has invested heavily in having Republicans who know Paxton well explaining why the outgoing attorney general isn't fit to serve in higher office. The campaign rolled out "Republicans for Talarico" with endorsements from "Dan Cogdell, a Paxton lawyer in the impeachment trial, and David Maxwell, a former top Paxton staffer who testified in his impeachment trial."

Meanwhile, Republicans appear to be cutting their losses in states like North Carolina and Georgia, Politico reported Tuesday.

The generic congressional ballot is brutal, an NPR/PBS/Marist poll taken last week shows. Democrats are at 53 percent, and Republicans stand at 41 percent.

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