A major donor to Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton has announced his support for Democratic opponent James Talarico in the closely watched U.S. Senate race in Texas.
Thomas J. Henry, a prominent attorney and the founder of the personal injury law firm Thomas J. Henry Law, which has offices in five cities in Texas, announced his endorsement of Talarico in a video posted on X on Wednesday night.
“I'm Thomas J. Henry. I'm here to announce my support for James Talarico for United States Senator from Texas,” he said.
Henry, who donated more than $600,000 to a super PAC supporting Paxton's candidacy, said he had made the decision to support Talarico, the state lawmaker and former teacher, after meeting with him to discuss the issues affecting Texas and the nation. He found Talarico's approach “balanced, straightforward, and honest," he said.
“Whether it was the security of our country or the economics of our state and our country, James has a balanced approach to trying to solve those problems for all of us,” he said.
Newsweek contacted Henry's office and the Paxton and Talarico campaigns for comment via email outside regular business hours on Thursday.
Newsweek has contacted Henry's office for further comment via an email sent outside regular business hours.
The endorsement comes as most polls show Talarico narrowly ahead of Paxton in a Senate race that could determine party control of the chamber. If he wins, he would be the first Democrat to win a statewide race in reliably red Texas in 32 years. Close polling in other recent statewide Texas votes had ultimately proved false dawns for Democrats.
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In his video Henry also addressed his support for Paxton, the state’s attorney general, during the Republican primary against four-term Senator John Cornyn. Ahead of a May runoff in that race, Thomas J. Henry Law made two donations totalling totalling $646,107 to Lone Star Liberty PAC, a pro-Republican super PAC supporting Paxton’s Senate bid, according to FEC filings reviewed by Newsweek.
“Now I know some of you know that I supported Paxton in the race against Cornyn,” Henry said in the video.
“One of the reasons I did that was because Cornyn had been in office way too long. I think that politicians shouldn't serve endless terms in the U.S. Senate. Also, at the time I supported Paxton, I recognized that Paxton would not debate Cornyn.”
Henry added that after learning more about the issues affecting Paxton, who has faced a series of political and legal troubles, he felt that meeting with Talarico would be important.
“That meeting was extremely valuable because it taught me the values Talarico has the values for respect, fairness, safety, good economics for Texas and our country and a balanced approach to all the issues,” he said.
“So this year, I am so proud to support James Talarico for U.S. Senate and I encourage everyone to get out and support the candidate they want to support.”
This is a developing story; more to follow.