Stretching for miles along the Texas Gulf Coast, the Houston Petrochemical Complex lights up the night sky. Oil and gas smoke stacks emit flickering flares, letting off a distant glow that can be seen from nearby communities and passing highways. Roll down a window and the air is thick with the smell of sweet plastic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Texas has been this way for decades \u2014 a lumbering, constant giant in the global oil and gas industry. The state produced 43%<\/a> of the crude oil in the United States in 2025, about 5.8 million barrels a day. From the western Panhandle to the edge of Louisiana, energy is constantly the subject of conversation, especially now as a key issue in the November midterm elections.\u00a0<\/p>\n State Rep. James Talarico and Attorney General Ken Paxton are neck-and-neck for one of the state\u2019s two U.S. Senate seats. For months, the two candidates have toured Texas, campaigning for one of the most high-profile seats on either side of the aisle on issues such as immigration, health care and public safety. And while the candidates have vastly different stands on nearly every issue, they are both asking the same pressing question, one on every Texan\u2019s mind: What are we going to do about energy prices?<\/p>\n Energy costs are on the rise. In the last five years, prices across the U.S. and in Texas have increased by more than 30%, according to data<\/a> collected by Electric Choice. A national rise in data centers, volatile fossil fuel prices and foreign policy decisions are pushing demand to the edge<\/a>, leaving consumers struggling to fill their gas tanks or pay monthly electric bills.\u00a0<\/p>\n In response, Talarico and Paxton have gone toe-to-toe on energy issues. Paxton, known as an ultraconservative Republican, has a long, storied history of shaping energy policy, particularly in partnering with other attorneys general to oppose Biden administration environmental and energy policies, while Talarico falls along Democratic party lines, showing support for the environment climate causes while serving in the Texas statehouse.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, both campaigns are leaning heavily on pocketbook and cost of living issues, according to Daniel Cohan, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University in Houston.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ways they are campaigning about energy are remarkably similar, which is surprising given how different their records have been,\u201d said Cohan. \u201cThey are both trying to claim the mantle of the one who\u2019s going to lower energy costs.\u201d<\/p>\n Issues in Energy Demand\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the biggest issues shaping the energy debate today is the construction and use of data centers for artificial intelligence.\u00a0<\/p>\n There are nearly 400 data centers operating, planned or under construction in Texas, requiring nearly 17 terawatts of electricity annually, according to Electric Choice<\/a>, which is the equivalent of powering 1.6 million homes for a year. This, along with high water usage to cool the facilities\u2019 supercomputers, has led to a growing discontent from Texans on data center development, with more than 50% opposed<\/a> to the construction of a center in their community.\u00a0<\/p>\n With such strong opposition to data centers, both candidates have addressed concerns on the campaign trail.\u00a0<\/p>\n In August, Paxton unveiled a plan<\/a> to ban Chinese technology from U.S. data centers and hold companies liable if their data centers power AI chatbots that harm child safety. He also co-sponsored the DATA Act<\/a> \u2014 a bill proposed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) \u2014 which would exempt off-grid power systems with high energy loads, including data centers, from most federal electricity regulations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Additionally, Paxton supports Texas Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s plan<\/a> to require data centers to fund their own electricity infrastructure, repeal sales tax exemptions and reduce impacts in local communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Critics say Paxton\u2019s stand is contradictory: In 2013 he voted as a Texas state senator for data centers to receive the same sales tax exemptions he is now proposing to repeal. The exemption has cost Texas billions of dollars in sales tax revenue<\/a> and will continue to do so unless the exemptions are reversed.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cKen Paxton gave data center companies billions of tax handouts that created the problem we have today,\u201d said JT Ennis, communications director and campaign spokesperson for the Talarico campaign, in a statement to Capital & Main. \u201cTexans can\u2019t afford a Senator who\u2019s bought by big data center companies. Texans can\u2019t afford Ken Paxton\u2019s corruption.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Talarico has also called<\/a> for the repeal of the tax exemptions and for requiring data centers to fund their own infrastructure improvements to ensure the Texas grid can keep up with demand. Talarico has also pushed for local communities and governments to have the say on whether to permit construction of a data center, rather than the state \u2014 something that Paxton has not moved on<\/a> as attorney general.\u00a0<\/p>\n Moreso, Talarico has reminded voters about the recently resolved fraud case<\/a> in which Paxton was charged with persuading investors in 2015 to buy at least $100,000 worth of stock at a data center tech startup \u2014 Servergy \u2014 without disclosing that he would be compensated.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Paxton campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment on his energy positions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Issues in Affordability and Climate<\/p>\n As gas prices have spiked significantly over the past two years, candidates running in the upcoming election have focused on how to make the situation manageable for everyday residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n Prices have jumped<\/a> more than a dollar since last year, forcing drivers to pay around $4.30 to $4.40 per gallon of gasoline.\u00a0<\/p>\n This year, both Talarico and Paxton have called for the end of the federal gas tax. The ban would be temporary under Talarico and permanent under Paxton. As of 2026, the gas tax is 18.4 cents<\/a> per gallon for gasoline.\u00a0<\/p>\n In his campaign Talarico has also specifically addressed the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, also called LIHEAP. The bipartisan program helps families with their utility bills, though few residents actually receive the aid they need. In 2025, more than 38 million households were eligible for LIHEAP assistance across the country. Only 15% received anything, according to Edison Electric Institute<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Texas and California have the most LIHEAP eligible households<\/a> that receive no funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n Talarico has called for funding and eligibility to be expanded with structural changes so that hot climate states, such as Texas, will receive equitable funds for families. Paxton has no direct proposed policies addressing LIHEAP.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the campaign trail is only one piece of the puzzle, said Cohan. Historically, the two candidates have been starkly different on climate.\u00a0<\/p>\n Paxton has repeatedly sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to block federal air, water and emission regulations, including the methane tax<\/a> through the Biden administration\u2019s Inflation Reduction Act, interstate smog control plan<\/a>, ozone\/sulfur dioxide standards<\/a> and the EPA\u2019s stricter air quality<\/a> standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI will always use every available avenue to block Biden\u2019s extremist climate agenda, especially when federal policy undermines Texas industry and destroys Texas jobs,\u201d Paxton said in 2024, commenting on the EPA\u2019s stricter air quality standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the past, Talarico has been progressive on climate activism. In 2021, the state senator authored a Texas House bill<\/a> aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to 90% below the level in 1990. He also introduced legislation to add climate change topics<\/a> to K-12 school curriculums.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, he has since tempered his stance and moved to an \u201call-of-the-above\u201d<\/a> energy approach that balances supporting the oil and gas industry and investing in renewable energy \u2014 recently commenting that \u201cwe have to protect good paying oil and gas jobs\u201d while \u201ccreating new jobs in cutting-edge technologies<\/a> like geothermal and hydrogen-fueled energy.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n Cohan predicts that the outcome of this race will influence U.S. energy policy for the next several years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s likely that whoever wins the Senate race is going to be the 51st to vote for the majority in the Senate in the next session of Congress,\u201d Cohan said. \u201cThis is one of the deciding races that can tilt the ballot in the Senate and totally shape what sort of legislation can move forward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 Capital & Main<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stretching for miles along the Texas Gulf Coast, the Houston Petrochemical Complex lights up the night sky. 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