AUSTIN \u2013 With the Democrat campaigning in the produce aisle and the Republican promising voters millions of free eggs, Texas\u2019 Senate race has turned into a political food fight.<\/p>\n
Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate, announced an antitrust settlement Tuesday that will send 7 million free eggs<\/a> to Texas food banks. That comes as his Democratic opponent, James Talarico, released an ad in a grocery store<\/a> last week promising to lower food costs.<\/p>\n \u201cThis settlement serves as another reform that we have secured to prevent price gouging and unlawful conduct that hurts Americans and their wallets,\u201d\u00a0Paxton said in a statement.<\/p>\n Talarico, however, quickly pushed back, saying that Paxton has done little to help Texans struggling with high grocery bills, while roasting Paxton\u2019s recent reported vacation<\/a> to Iceland and referencing his own grocery store ad, \u201cDrowning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKen Paxton is scrambling to distract from the fact that Texans are drowning under the high price of gas, groceries, and healthcare \u2013 all while he jets off on a lavish European vacation,\u201d said JT Ennis, a Talarico spokesman. \u201cHe is the embodiment of the broken, corrupt political system we\u2019re running against.\u201d<\/p>\n Paxton has consistently denied wrongdoing, calling corruption allegations politically motivated, and he has touted his efforts as AG in holding corporations accountable for raising prices.<\/p>\n The Texas settlement ends antitrust claims brought by attorneys general in 17 states, stemming from allegations that three companies conspired to illegally raise egg prices from 2022 to 2025.<\/p>\n They now are required to donate 53 million eggs to food banks and other community aid groups in those states, including 7 million eggs for Texas, and pay $3.3 million to those states.<\/p>\n The campaign’s culinary dispute didn’t begin with eggs.<\/p>\n