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Today's guest is Ted Brown, the Libertarian Party candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas. Brown is facing off against Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico in a closely contested race. Brown received more than 267,000 votes in his 2024 Senate campaign and is now challenging both major parties on their commitment to individual liberty. He argues that Republicans have abandoned limited government while Democrats increasingly embrace economic policies that undermine the free market.
Nick Gillespie talks with Brown about Paxton's corruption scandals, Talarico's hostility toward billionaires, and why Texas ranks poorly on personal freedom despite its business-friendly reputation. Brown makes the case for returning to an Ellis Island–style immigration system, cutting federal spending to confront the $40 trillion national debt, and ending America's military involvement in the Middle East. They also discuss abortion rights, government surveillance, online age-verification laws, and how regulations drive up the cost of healthcare. Brown explains what it will take to rebuild the Libertarian Party and why he believes a senator could accomplish more by stopping bad legislation than by passing new laws.
0:00—Freedom in Texas
4:01—Paxton's corruption
6:21—Talarico's platform
8:53—Texas governance
10:33—Ellis Island–style immigration
13:58—Abolishing the federal income tax
15:29—Entitlement reforms and defense spending
18:19—Abortion
21:21—Transgender healthcare
22:24—Age-verification laws
25:05—Healthcare and property insurance
31:22—Who is Brown appealing to?
33:27—The Libertarian Party
36:08—Brown's pitch to undecided voters
39:06—Threats to individual liberty
The post Could a Libertarian Swing the Texas Senate Race? appeared first on Reason Magazine.
© Illustration: Fatima Ruiz
Two prominent Republican voices in Texas have announced their support in recent days for Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico over Republican Ken Paxton, less than two weeks before the midterm elections, in which Donald Trump’s party risks losing control of Congress.
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Neil Bush, son of former President George H.W. Bush (1989-1993) and brother of former President George W. Bush (2001-2009), and Wayne Thorburn, former executive director of the Texas Republican Party, publicly said Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian and former teacher, is a figure with the right values to represent Texas in the Senate.
Bush even said he had already cast his early vote for Talarico. Both cited the Democrat’s “character,” and Bush went further, directly attacking Paxton and expressing his “concern” about his conduct and track record.
Paxton, the state’s current attorney general, has a lengthy history of corruption and fraud allegations that even led him to face an impeachment trial in 2023, initiated by his own party in the state Legislature, where he was acquitted. Bush also criticized Paxton’s close ties to Trump, whom he accused of causing “enormous damage” to the Republican Party.
Neil Bush, brother of George W. Bush and Jeb Bush, has broken his longstanding silence on politics to back Democrat James Talarico over Ken Paxton.@Timodc reacts: "Hopefully there are going to be a lot of Neil Bushes out there over the next two weeks." pic.twitter.com/T27wUmJXpw
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) October 22, 2026
“I am concerned about a political culture in which loyalty to one person takes precedence over loyalty to principles and in which those in power begin to believe they no longer have to be held accountable,” said Bush, an energy industry businessman.
In 2015, a Collin County grand jury formally indicted Paxton on securities fraud charges. The case was closed in 2024 with a pretrial intervention agreement, without Paxton pleading guilty.
In addition, the Justice Department investigated him over allegations of corruption and abuse of power. The investigations did not result in charges and were closed in the final weeks of Joe Biden’s administration (2021-2025).
BREAKING: George W. Bush's brother Neil just dropped a BOMB on MAGA by proudly announcing that he voted for James Talarico in the Texas Senate race.
— Occupy Democrats (@OccupyDemocrats) October 21, 2026
This just gave Republicans a flashing green light to vote blue…
"I have never posted a political message on Facebook not… pic.twitter.com/iLi6UsfJqa
Trump’s decision to endorse Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary drew widespread criticism from lawmakers and party strategists. The race for Texas’ Senate seat, which the state has not awarded to a Democrat since 1988, has become one of the most important contests of this election cycle.
More than US$500 million has been spent on advertising in the race overall, according to data from the firm AdImpact cited by U.S. media outlets.
Polls, which for weeks showed Talarico leading Paxton by a few percentage points, have shown the gap narrowing in recent days and now put the Democrat 1.5 points ahead of the attorney general, according to RealClearPolitics.
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