I’m Zach Despart, an investigative journalist covering the competitive Ken Paxton-James Talarico U.S. Senate race. I broke the news that Paxton possibly violated federal ethics and Texas election laws. AMA. 📬

[u/texastribune]

Hi everyone. I’m Zach Despart, an investigative reporter at ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. I’ve been covering Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for three years. That includes the race for U.S. Senate between Paxton and Texas state Rep. James Talarico. 

This July, my colleagues and I broke the news that Paxton may have violated state election law by voting in a county he no longer resided in — even after attempting to prosecute others for similar alleged violations. Our team also found that Talarico, Paxton’s Democratic opponent, voted in five elections using his parents’ address after purchasing a home for himself nearby, a practice that may have violated state voting laws. 

This month, we found that Paxton’s financial disclosures appear to have violated federal ethics law. Our reporting helped explain how Paxton withheld financial information over three terms as AG that could explain how he became a multimillionaire and had the resources to purchase more than a dozen properties in five states. 

Questions about Paxton’s ethics have dogged him in the race for U.S. Senate. Talarico entered September with a narrow polling lead — uncharted territory in a state where Republicans have not lost a statewide race in 32 years.

Join me for an AMA on Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. CT.

We reached out to Paxton multiple times about his voter registration. A spokesperson for his campaign did not answer a detailed list of questions. She instead sent a statement saying that Paxton has been “a national leader on election integrity, with a long record of defending Texas elections.” The spokesperson said that “attempting to insinuate otherwise and tear him down with a baseless, lie-filled tabloid story is not real reporting.” The campaign twice did not respond when asked to provide specifics about what staff believed was inaccurate. 

Paxton declined to be interviewed and did not answer detailed questions about how he filled out the disclosure forms. A spokesperson for his campaign said Paxton “has had a long and successful career outside of public service, including running his own small business as a lawyer. Stirring up partisan allegations is nothing more than a bad attempt to manufacture controversy where none exists.”

Talarico’s campaign declined to answer questions about his residency and voting history. When asked about the apparent discrepancy in Talarico’s voter registration and residency, his campaign shifted blame onto Paxton. “This is a lame attempt by Ken Paxton to deflect from his own hypocrisy and career of corruption,” JT Ennis, Talarico campaign spokesperson, said in a statement, nodding to Paxton’s legal troubles. During an appearance at The Texas Tribune Festival, Talarico said his voter registration address has been accurate in every election he has voted in.

[u/TesseringPoet]

Thank you for your service. Paxton continues to be hilariously bad at this. Glad to see his indiscretions (across categories!) are finally getting some sunlight.

Any idea why Paxton has been able to tread water in Texas politics for long, despite his inability to follow the law?

[u/texastribune → u/TesseringPoet]

Paxton has effectively positioned himself as a champion of the far right. He made a name for himself nationally among conservatives for suing the Biden administration. He has also won lawsuits against Big Tech here in Texas, winning billions of dollars. During the primary against Sen. John Cornyn, he successfully pitched himself as the only true conservative in the race and, unlike his opponent, he wasn't a fixture of the Washington swamp. And despite his many scandals as a public official, he has largely avoided punishment. He negotiated a plea deal to resolve his felony securities fraud charges. He was acquitted at his impeachment trial. The Justice Department, looking into many of the same claims as the impeachment investigators, decided not to charge him in that case. He's had some close calls, but in a few months he may be a U.S. senator.

[u/Waste-Time-2440]

GOP leaders have violated so many laws already, is it really so impacful to catch them yet again? It is news, and you should report it, but our focus needs to be on the actions we take about the innumerable violations already in plain sight.

Is there any hopeful indication that opposition leaders have plans to enforce the law and make these reports count for something? That's the story so many of us are waiting to read.

[u/texastribune → u/Waste-Time-2440]

It's hard to judge when reporting will lead to impact. I think it's important to call out wrongdoing when we see it. Some cases of egregious behavior are easier to prove than others, so there are plenty of stories that we don't report because the evidence isn't strong enough. Issues of public corruption are particularly thorny because prosecuting these types of cases requires officials to hold themselves, and often their political allies, accountable. Republicans and Democrats in Texas and elsewhere have been reluctant to do that. The best remedy to that is voters who have high standards for the people they elect to office. You'd be surprised how often politicians change their tune when their political future may be on the line.

[u/lightedge]

What about Texas voters makes this race even remotely competitive? Paxton is clearly unethical, scandal prone, and harmful to Texas and Talarico is by all accounts a decent person and a good christian. What is it about Texas voters in specifically that makes them automatically vote for someone like Paxton despit all of the baggage? Is it just the fact that he is Republican? Is Texas really that broken or is there something that I'm missing?

[u/texastribune → u/lightedge]

The Texas electorate is generally right of center, so that presents a challenge for any Democratic statewide candidate. It is true that Paxton has faced a lot of scandals since he took office — he was indicted for securities fraud shortly after becoming AG — so these issues are not a surprise to voters at this point. Many conservative voters have concluded that they should look past these indiscretions because they believe Paxton has delivered for them as AG and will continue to do so as senator. They like him in part because he is a culture warrior and advocate of Christian causes, and for his vocal opposition to Democrats (including then-president Joe Biden). This isn't to say that Paxton isn't hurt by these scandals. He usually runs a few points behind the rest of the GOP ticket (he was 5 points behind Gov. Abbott in 2018, for example). In a very close election, that could doom Paxton.

[u/laevian → u/lightedge]

I have a handful of neighbors that I'm working on bringing around, but there are a handful of factors.

• we're biiiig in the oil industry, which historically has been pretty anti dem (renewables are starting to make headway but it's still rough)
• lots of ignorance, lots of indoctrination, lots of deeply rural cities with tiny populations that feel like democrats are public enemy no1
• one neighbor doesn't like DEI because he feels the best person for the job should be hired and that it has led to bad hires
• lots of religious folks who have been led to believe that republican = religious

One of my neighbors used to listen to hannity on the radio in his garage day in and day out. He's stopped now but can you imagine the toxic brainrot that that leads to?

[u/static_func → u/lightedge]

Yes, it's just because he's a Republican. Yes, politics really is just that broken. They tie it to their whole identity and will rationalize any fault in who they're voting for. It's either fake news, or the opponent who just wants free school lunches is somehow worse. To admit otherwise would be to admit that they're some of the biggest idiots in human history.

[u/pokemansplainer]

What is the state of Texas journalism? What threats are good journalists facing in the lone star state? Outside of the Tribune, who else is doing good work?

[u/texastribune → u/pokemansplainer]

I'm not one of our number crunchers, but at the moment The Texas Tribune and ProPublica are doing fine financially. There are many great papers in this state — I used to work for the Houston Chronicle — but I would say that journalism in general continues to struggle. Reporting, especially the investigative work we do, is really expensive. We conduct a lot of research and interviews that never show up in the stories you read, but are important so that we get our facts right. Local reporting (think city hall or commissioners court) tends to suffer the most, so I encourage Texans to subscribe to their local paper so they can get the stories that are most important in their lives. I don't have a favorite publication in Texas; I'm just a sucker for a good story.

[u/duwh2040 → u/texastribune]

Ooh a number cruncher, my kinda dude. Were you able to record a noticeable drop in support for Paxton when he did all the funny business with the alcohol industry against the hemp industry?

[u/Eric25221]

So what are the chances that Talarico pulls it off and at what margin do you expect?

Do you think Angela Paxton “endorsing” her ex-husband would have any effect at all?

[u/texastribune → u/Eric25221]

Oof, I'm not smart enough to make a prediction. Plus a lot can change in a month! I will be so bold as to say I think the race will be within five points, whoever wins. I'm not sure how Mrs. (Sen.) Paxton's comments will play (for those who hadn't seen, she said in a speech recently, without naming Ken, that it's important to support the GOP ticket in general). I think there are some Republicans who have serious qualms about Ken Paxton's personal baggage and inegrity, not least of which because Mrs. Paxton accused him of adultery. One of Paxton's easiest paths to victory is convincing those voters to look past those faults and support him anyway.

[u/TehLittleTroll]

Hey Zach! I'm fairly certain I went to high school with ya! Glad to see you're doing well and fighting the good fight!

[u/texastribune → u/TehLittleTroll]

Hi there! I am a proud graduate of Maple Hill High School near Albany, NY. Glad to hear from you, whoever you are.

[u/nbd9000]

so when the election goes down and paxton wins by over a million votes more than are actual voters, what are you prepared to do to help solve the problem? we already suspected Republicans were cheating in the last election and paxtons involvement basically guarantees they will this time. what can you do to help combat that?

[u/texastribune → u/nbd9000]

I appreciate the question, and I'd answer that in two ways. One, county officials and the secretary of state in Texas generally do a bang-up job administering elections here. Sure, there are usually minor mistakes and delays, but considering we have 254 counties and each runs their own contest, it's quite a feat. On the other hand, Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit challenging the results of the 2020 election that Joe Biden won, and spoke at the rally the morning of Jan. 6, 2021 with President Trump. Paxton has given no public indication he wouldn't accept the outcome of this election if he loses. But we have been brainstorming a number of outcomes re: election chaos and how to report on them.

[u/nbd9000 → u/texastribune]

well, that gives me some hope.

[u/Punch_Up]

Why does texas seem willing to crucify these guys over voter addresses, but not over a massive ethics violation?

[u/texastribune → u/Punch_Up]

I'm not sure that's true. We reported on these voter registration issues because that's what we found this year that's new. I also extensively covered Ken Paxton's impeachment and trial in 2023, that involved far more substantive allegations of wrongoing: namely that Paxton abused his office to help an Austin real estate investor that was his friend. Paxton has not faced voters since the trial. I'm not sure how that weighs on their minds as they decide whether he should be the next Texas senator.

[u/Dallas_Delenda_Est → u/texastribune]

Paxton hasn't faced voters since his trial in 2023? Didn't he win the primary for Republican senate race?

[u/Flock_Me_Amadeus]

I just want to say thank you for doing your important work. please do not stop

[u/texastribune → u/Flock_Me_Amadeus]

Thank you. We think these types of stories are valuable for informing readers and voters. We go to great lengths to ensure our stories are fair and accurate, and I hope that shows through in the reporting.

[u/Round_Rice_9475]

Why is it nobody in the media has the balls to push back on trump/gop B.S. to their face? Do you remember Watergate and how journalist used to be? Pepperidge farms remembers (I ask this on alot of AMA's and never get an answer. I thought the media was supposed to be tough, hard hitting but all I see is glazing and letting bone spur bozo crap all over reporters while the rest stand there and take it. It's like you guys care more about appeasing and getting your ratings/money than doing your job. Did your job description change?)

[u/texastribune → u/Round_Rice_9475]

I disagree with the premise of the question. I was born well after Watergate, but I've read All The President's Men and it's a great tale of how the Washington press corps slowly unraveled the scandal. I don't cover President Trump, but I can tell you that my colleagues at ProPublica, and many elsewhere, have no qualms about reporting aggressively on President Trump and his party (I'd shout out our recent work on Don Jr. and Sen. Susan Collins). // I report on Texas so I can address that — here we're also unafraid to call out BS, as you say, when we see it. For our story on Mr. Paxton's voter registration, he repeatedly ignored our questions, so I drove to Collin County and knocked on his door. There's not much more you can do to reach someone. And as for all that money in journalism you referenced — let me know where that can be found!!

[u/Round_Rice_9475 → u/texastribune]

Look at how the gop treated Obama. Why don't reporters treat trump like that? Or how fox news treated him? And to answer your question, fox news is where the money is. Number one rated cable news for like 20 some years or something. Msnbc and CNN also have money. That's what the reporters are protecting, their jobs and their bosses/companies money (company, business, corporation, whatever proper nomenclature is)

Last I checked Texas was in the US of A but what do I know, I'm just a dumb union trade worker.

Reporters need to get on TV and report. Ask the hard questions. Over and over. Go in cable news and say "I tried asking but look at this video of (insert dirty politician name here) running scared like a coward haha. How pathetic, what a weakling" or something like that. You gatta attack and provoke. Hit back. Use their own tactics and insults against them. Reclaim the word/term "patriot" and "American" or whatever freedumb word works/sounds good

[u/texastribune → u/Round_Rice_9475]

I agree with you about asking hard questions, repeatedly if necessary. But I disagree about using "their own tactics and insults against them." It disappoints me greatly that elected officials sometimes hurl abuse at reporters, their political opponents, heck sometimes their constituents. It's bad for democracy. But our responsibility as journalists first and foremost is to our readers. The stories shouldn't be about us. And sometimes I think politicans want reporters to shout back at them to have a foil; I don't think that's a wise or productive use of our time. We should keep reporting aggressively and stick to the facts. We should push back professionally when we are attacked, and let readers just who is more trustworthy.

[u/notbad4human → u/texastribune]

I think there is a difference between bullying and bullish. Lies and misdirection should be put down and even mocked. Not the person themselves, but their spin and trying to redirect. Reporters just give up over here. UK reporters are much more in your face.

[u/Round_Rice_9475 → u/texastribune]

No, you should either get nasty or change tactics. If you always do what you've always done, you'll alwyget what you've always got. And right now reporters are getting insults hurled at them, talked down to, and treated like garbage. So your response is just to take it? Nah, either strike back (metaphorically obviously) or come back with something else. Don't cower in fear. Stand up for yourself. They talk to you that way because you let them

[u/TimothyHalpern]

Your team reported potential election-law violations involving both candidates, yet your title specifically says you broke the news that Paxton “possibly violated” election laws. Why frame the AMA as though the legal violations are Paxton’s alone when your own reporting found a similar issue involving Talarico?

[u/texastribune → u/TimothyHalpern]

A couple reasons. Most of our reporting on this race has been about Paxton. And re: the voter registration issue, while we found potential lawbreaking by both candidates, only Paxton has made aggressively enforcing Texas' voting laws a hallmark of his political career. That he may have broken the same laws he has prosecuted Texans for would strike many readers as hypocritical.

[u/the_answer_is_c]

Hey, I want your opinions on the actual predictions of the race. I don’t really understand why Talarico is the favorite. Ted Cruz one in 2024 handedly and I think that Allred was a stronger candidate than Talarico.

What is different this year in a non-presidential election thanin 2024?

The only convincing argument I have is that Ted Cruz is a much stronger candidate than Paxton obviously.

[u/texastribune → u/the_answer_is_c]

I'm not in the predictions game! But I can say the conventional wisdom holds that for a Democrat to win a race in conservative Texas, there are several prerequisites: a very unpopular Republican president, widespread economic anxiety, a weak R candidate and Texas statewide officials making unusual political errors. All of those things are true right now, unlike in 2024 (on that last point, I mean that a few issues, like the backlash against data centers and Trump's insistence on building border infrastructure in the Big Bend region, seem to have put state leaders on the back foot). All that to say I think this election is more about Paxton and the national environment for Republicans than Talarico. Talarico is a fairly generic Democrat and junior TX House member from Austin, not nearly a political heavyweight like Beto O'Rourke or Julian Castro. Talarico has consistently led in the polls, in part because he out fundraised Paxton. But money has been pouring in from Republicans, and Paxton has plenty of time to pull this off.

[u/the_answer_is_c → u/texastribune]

Thanks for the insight!

[u/Common_Shelter_4605 → u/the_answer_is_c]

Allred was never (AFAIK) ahead in all of the polls, Talarico is.

[u/the_answer_is_c → u/Common_Shelter_4605]

Yes, I’m guess I’m asking why you think that is.

[u/Common_Shelter_4605 → u/the_answer_is_c]

Because Talarico is a better candidate than Allred, and Paxton is a little worse than Cruz.

[u/happysnappah]

Hi, Zach.

Q: why do you think Texas voters will suddenly care about any behavior of Ken Paxton’s or base their vote on anything that requires a thought beyond the letter after the name? Genuinely confused.

[u/Redditisthewurst]

In TX specifically, do you feel like the Overton window is sliding right? Or is it widening?

[u/texastribune]

That's all we have time for today. Thank you all for your questions. Be sure to continue to follow ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. Our investigative team is dedicated to election coverage.

[u/space_manatee]

Great investigative work. I wish I lived in a country where it mattered. 

[u/bakerfredricka → u/space_manatee]

Same. I want to have hope that somehow we can fix the country though....

[u/Dry-Measurement-5461]

We should report this to the Attorney General! Oh, wait.

[u/Additional-Sky-7436]

Do you think your reporting will change a single vote?