<\/p>\n
Gov. Greg Abbott, right, speaks at a news conference with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, in 2020. The two are in close races on Nov. 3.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner<\/p>\n
Austin American-Statesman\/USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n
FORT WORTH<\/p>\n
More than half the vote in is, and justice appears to be catching up to Ken Paxton<\/a> after more than 20 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now the questions are:<\/p>\n \u2022 How many other Republicans will Paxton and Donald Trump drag down Tuesday?<\/p>\n \u2022 And will Texans and Tarrant County get an honest vote count?<\/p>\n Why Ken Paxton\u2019s problems hurt all Republicans<\/p>\n The Curse of Paxton<\/a> may hurt Texas Republicans more than Trump.<\/p>\n For all his failings, Trump has always inspired his voters<\/a> with sheer force, orneriness and bluster.<\/p>\n But if Trump is the bull in the china shop, Paxton is the shop tabby cat.<\/p>\n The difference in Trump and Paxton is plain: Paxton doesn\u2019t stand up and fight.<\/p>\n He uses lawsuits and paper<\/a> to carry out his grudges. He is not strong enough to use words, or argue face-to-face.<\/p>\n He never testified as he came within a thinning Dan Patrick hair of being removed by fellow Republicans as Texas attorney general in a trial where Patrick excluded the telltale witnesses<\/a>.<\/p>\n He never stood face-to-face and called Talarico any of those cute nicknames.<\/p>\n He never stood up in church and confessed anything in any way, and he almost never went to church<\/a> or faced his God at all in a campaign where he made light of Talarico\u2019s faith.<\/p>\n Frankly, neither Paxton nor Talarico seems like they can stand up and ferociously defend Texas in the tight-knit club of the U.S. Senate. But Talarico is 26 years younger and can learn to dish it out.<\/p>\n Greg Abbott really leads the ticket, but there\u2019s Hinojosa<\/p>\n Paxton\u2019s weakness has only made it tougher on the Republicans beneath him on the ballot.<\/p>\n They have counted on Gov. Greg Abbott as the party champion, but Abbott has let rural Texans down on data centers<\/a> and support for public schools.<\/p>\n Abbott himself is in a down-to-the-wire race against Democrat Gina Hinojosa, and Paxton is dragging him down.<\/p>\n Other Republican state officials are still leading in polls, but maybe not in the early vote .<\/p>\n They need another 500,000 or so<\/a> Republican voters to show up.<\/p>\n Who\u2019s counting the votes? You won\u2019t believe<\/p>\n If you wondered whether the vote count would be honest, you already have your answer.<\/p>\n When it came time to appoint objective clerks to the county Early Voting Ballot Board that verifies mail-in ballots, current Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Tim Davis instead named a list that included one candidate\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n White Settlement City Council member Aaron James, a county Republican Party activist, is running for re-election against David Burke and Don Wagnon. Yet his wife, Jennifer, was named and approved for the board that decides whether to accept or reject voters\u2019 mail-in ballots.<\/p>\n After Jennifer James was approved, police ticketed her for theft. One of Mayor Faron Young\u2019s campaign signs was stolen Oct. 1.<\/p>\n The theft was caught on video.<\/p>\n Davis\u2019 hand-picked election judge, Amie Super, is also a Republican activist chosen by the party. She has not said yet whether James reviewed any ballots, or how many.<\/p>\n County officials appointed more clerks without comment at an abruptly called Oct. 29 meeting, and James is now described as a poll watcher.<\/p>\n Those board members take a sworn oath to be objective. They can\u2019t be a candidate\u2019s relative.<\/p>\n Tarrant County Republican Party officials know that.<\/p>\n How your vote can be thrown out<\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason I pay attention to the Early Voting Ballot Board and election judge.<\/p>\n In 2020, my mail-in ballot was thrown out.<\/p>\n One of the Ballot Board clerks said the signatures on the application and the ballot didn\u2019t match. I used a marking pen for one.<\/p>\n The Republican election judge agreed. But later, the county election administrator and Secretary of State\u2019s office said the writing was clear enough and the ballot should have been accepted.<\/p>\n When I checked into who was on the Ballot Board that day, I found they were members of the Grapevine-based True Texas Project.<\/p>\n So much for the current Tarrant County Republican Party and \u201celection integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published October 30, 2026 at 4:50 AM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n Bud Kennedy is a Fort Worth Star-Telegram opinion columnist. In a 54-year Texas newspaper career, he has covered two Super Bowls, a presidential inauguration, seven national political conventions and 19 Texas Legislature sessions..
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