Two of Texas law enforcement's most prominent veterans are lining up behind Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico, pushing back against Republican rival Ken Paxton's months-long effort to brand the state representative as anti-cop. Charley Wilkison, who led the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas for 11 years, announced his endorsement of Talarico, while David Maxwell, a Texas Ranger Hall of Famer and Paxton's own former law-enforcement director, threw his support behind the Democrat weeks earlier.
Wilkison, former head of CLEAT, Texas's largest police union, wrote that Talarico is a champion for all of us, everyday Americans getting the short end of a corrupt political and economic system, according to the San Antonio Current. He also praised Talarico's vision on unity, writing that the Democrat offers a message of unity and a fair shot at the American dream. On Paxton, Wilkison was blunt: he does not pass the smell test, the former union leader said.
Maxwell's break from his former boss carries its own weight. The Texas Ranger Hall of Famer spent nearly 50 years working in Texas law enforcement, including stints as a Texas Ranger, a Department of Public Safety sergeant and Paxton's law-enforcement director, according to the Texas Tribune. Maxwell reported Paxton to the FBI in 2020, alleging bribery and abuse of office, and endorsed Talarico on September 8, 2026. “Texans deserve a senator who serves the people, not a crook who serves himself,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell Steps Into the Spotlight
Maxwell's endorsement didn't stay confined to a statement. The New York Times reported that he appeared in a new online ad endorsing Paxton's Democratic rival, James Talarico, putting a law-enforcement face directly against Paxton's attacks, according to the New York Times. The same report noted that Talarico's campaign has leaned on Paxton's whistleblower controversy as a central line of attack, at one point calling him the most corrupt politician in Texas.
Paxton, the sitting Texas attorney general and Talarico's rival in the race, has spent months trying to frame the contest in the opposite direction. At a Fort Worth news conference in July, Paxton spoke in front of 20 independent Texas sheriffs and called Talarico one of the most anti-law-enforcement politicians of all time, according to the Star-Telegram. He said Talarico's voting record is abysmal on law enforcement and protecting communities, and alleged that Talarico's campaign had donated $2,500 to the Austin Justice Coalition, a police reform nonprofit, claiming Talarico supported efforts with his own money to defund police in Austin. Negative television ads have since portrayed Talarico as anti-cop.
Talarico Pushes Back on the Senate Trail
Talarico, a Democratic state representative and former San Antonio public school teacher, has repeatedly denied the characterization. “I am not, nor have ever been, for defunding the police,” he said, pointing instead to votes allocating $56 billion to law-enforcement agencies, the Star-Telegram reported. Speaking separately to the El Paso Times, Talarico noted that the first piece of legislation he passed in the Texas House was to honor a fallen police officer, and he committed to advancing law enforcement priorities such as recruitment, better salaries and benefits, mental-health treatment and youth programs if elected, according to the El Paso Times.
Both candidates have taken their competing law-enforcement pitches directly to the people who do the job, addressing the Texas Sheriff's Association ahead of the general election, the same outlet reported. The dueling appearances underscore how central public safety messaging has become to a race that will help decide control of a U.S. Senate seat.
Closing Stretch Before Election Day
With early voting running through October 30 and polls reopening on Election Day, November 3, both campaigns are packing their final days with stops across the state. Paxton is scheduled to appear at Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que in New Braunfels at 8:30 a.m. Saturday before holding a final rally at the Alamo in San Antonio on Monday, November 2. Talarico, meanwhile, plans a rally at Club 1902 in San Antonio at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and another at the Espee on Sunday, November 1, according to the San Antonio Current's reporting, which also carried an image of Talarico speaking to the outlet during an earlier San Antonio appearance.
A recent opinion piece from a former Texas police-union leader also weighed in making the case for Talarico's bid, adding another voice from inside law enforcement circles to the debate over which candidate truly represents officers' interests, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. As San Antonio voters head to the polls, the fight over who truly stands with Texas police has become one of the race's defining storylines.
