The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has thrown its support behind Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the state’s battleground Senate race against Democrat James Talarico ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
“The choice is clear in Texas. Attorney General Ken Paxton has been a defender of free enterprise and the pro-growth policies that empower American businesses to thrive,” Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer of the Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement.
“He has pushed back against federal overreach, helped preserve a low-tax environment, and defended the energy sector from burdensome mandates,” Bradley added.
Bradley went on to praise Paxton’s understanding of the legal system’s role in the economy.
“Paxton understands that true economic prosperity relies on a fair and predictable justice system. We look forward to working together on meaningful legal reform that shields job creators from lawsuit abuse and red tape,” he said.
The endorsement gives a boost to Paxton in a race that has tightened in recent months.
Paxton, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, ousted Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in a Republican primary runoff in May. Since then, however, he has struggled to build a lead over Talarico amid dissatisfaction with the GOP in the Lone Star State.
In August, the Cook Political Report shifted its rating of the race away from Republicans to a “toss-up.”
Decision Desk HQ, a partner of The Hill, has designated the contest a coin flip that narrowly favors Democrats, giving Talarico a 54 percent probability of flipping the seat.
Talarico has also gone on offense against Paxton over his controversial record as Texas’ top prosecutor. Paxton was impeached by the Texas state House in 2023 before being acquitted by the state Senate.
In audio shared by The New York Times, Paxton also contended that his appearance at the GOP’s midterm convention “dropped our numbers.”
The Chamber’s backing of the Trump-endorsed candidate comes after the business group clashed with the Trump administration earlier this year over the president’s sweeping tariffs on nearly every country.
The Chamber of Commerce, which has been active for more than 100 years, opposed President Trump’s tariffs in an amicus brief filed in a Supreme Court case last year. In the brief, the group argued that the president was overstepping his statutory authority and that his actions were causing “irreparable harm to businesses of all sizes.”
The Supreme Court later ruled the tariffs were unlawful, rejecting Trump’s expanded use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose them.
Following the ruling, Bradley issued another statement in which the Chamber encouraged “the administration to use this opportunity to reset overall tariff policy in a manner that will lead to greater economic growth, larger wage gains for workers, and lower costs for families.”
Despite those past disagreements with the White House on trade, the Chamber has now lined up behind the president’s pick in Texas, framing Paxton as a champion of free enterprise, low taxes and the energy sector.
With forecasters calling the race a toss-up and Talarico narrowly favored by Decision Desk HQ, the endorsement from one of the nation’s most prominent business groups arrives as Paxton works to regain his footing in a contest that could help decide control of the Senate in the midterm elections.
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