Religion · Statewide · TX · August 14, 2026
Texas Senate Race Pits Rival Theologies: Paxton's Orthodoxy vs. Talarico's Progressivism
The Texas Tribune reports that Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, competing for a U.S. Senate seat, are campaigning on openly contrasting versions of Christianity. Paxton, an evangelical who has defended a state law requiring donated Ten Commandments displays in public classrooms and encouraged students to recite the King James Lord's Prayer, frames his positions on abortion, marriage, and gun rights as rooted in "Biblical Truth" and America's Judeo-Christian founding. Talarico, a seminary student and state legislator, argues that loving one's neighbor requires affirming LGBTQ+ individuals, supporting abortion access, and opposing what he calls "Christian nationalism" — including the same Ten Commandments law Paxton supports, which Talarico says improperly elevates one religion over others. Paxton has publicly stated Talarico called God "nonbinary" and called opposition to oil and gas un-Christian; Talarico says these claims misrepresent his actual comments. Both campaigns confirmed their positions to the Tribune and Religion News Service. No church, denomination, or institution is named as endorsing either candidate's theology.
Source: The Texas Tribune
Why Bible-Believing Christians Should Care
This race illustrates, in the political arena, the same divide this publication tracks inside churches: a biblical view holding Scripture as authoritative on sexuality, marriage, and the sanctity of unborn life, versus a progressive reinterpretation that treats those same texts as commands to affirm what Scripture calls sin. Talarico's claim that support for abortion flows "because of," not "despite," his faith is a direct example of progressive theology reshaping doctrine to fit contemporary politics. Christians should recognize that invoking "Christianity" or citing Scripture publicly does not by itself establish biblical fidelity — the content of the claim must be measured against the whole of Scripture, not campaign rhetoric from either side.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears — 2 Timothy 4:3
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From the book
Christian engagement with government is frequently paralyzed by bad theology. Some argue that because our kingdom is not of this world, we should withdraw from politics entirely. Others argue for a theocratic takeover. Both miss the biblical mandate, which is civil stewardship.
— Chapter 20, “Biblical Foundations: The Stewardship of the Sword”
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