For high-profile political candidates, a campaign spouse can be a critical partner not just at home but on the trail. But in the closely watched Senate race in Texas this year, a soon-to-be-divorced Republican is taking on a bachelor Democrat — and they’re both trying to avoid talking about their love lives.
The Republican, Ken Paxton, is navigating a divorce in which his wife, a state senator, has accused him of adultery. The Democrat, James Talarico, stayed mum about his personal life before revealing this summer that he has a girlfriend who used to work for him.
That unusual dynamic has injected an element of voyeurism into the high-stakes contest. Voters are undeniably interested in the personal lives of Texas’ two would-be senators. And candidates’ families have long been seen by voters and experts alike as part of the package. They call them “first ladies,” after all.
But as Americans marry later, or not at all, and divorce rates remain high for older adults, it is unclear whether Mr. Paxton and Mr. Talarico’s romantic entanglements will make any difference at the ballot box.
And the qualities that candidates often seek to convey by trotting their families out for campaign events — stability, support for traditional values — are a moving target in today’s chaotic and tribalistic political landscape dominated by Donald Trump.
“It’s a brand-new world in the era of Trump,” said Celinda Lake, a Democratic campaign strategist. “But I don’t think every candidate can rely on having the Teflon that Trump seems to have.”
Matt Gorman, a Republican strategist, said that while it’s typical for candidates to show off their nuclear families, this race could come down to which political “team” voters identify with. “Red and blue and the political values will matter far more.”
Some voters seem to agree.
“I don’t care if they’re married or not, just that they’re on the right side,” said Carol Wheeler, 63, a school bus driver from San Marcos, who was waiting to get a photograph with Mr. Talarico at a campaign event last week.
Roy Cozart, 62, a Republican who lives in Lockhart, said concerns he has about Mr. Paxton’s ethics — both professional and personal, given what’s well known about his divorce — might have led him to consider voting for a Democrat in November. But he found Mr. Talarico not moderate enough for his taste.
Mr. Cozart said he will be voting for Mr. Paxton in the end. “I’m going to have to stick with the lesser of two evils again,” he said.
Many Texans say the cost of living, the state’s water supply and border security are among their top issues. But interest in Mr. Paxton and Mr. Talarico’s private lives remains intense, leading to questions both men seem eager to deflect. When asked, both campaigns sought to bring the issue back to the character of their opponent.
Mr. Talarico has avoided mentioning Mr. Paxton’s marital issues. In a statement explaining why, his campaign accused the attorney general of having “cheated” in other ways.
“Ken Paxton has cheated our state through his bribery, self enrichment and fraud,” said JT Ennis, a Talarico campaign spokesman. “That is the issue on the ballot this November.”
Mr. Paxton was impeached in 2023, accused of abusing his office to help a campaign donor, but acquitted by the Texas Senate after a trial. He was also indicted on charges of felony securities fraud in 2015; that case ended in a deal two years ago that required restitution and community service but no admission of wrongdoing.
On the campaign trail, Mr. Paxton has publicly questioned Mr. Talarico’s masculinity, calling him “Low-T Talarico,” a reference to testosterone levels.
In a statement to The New York Times, Madison Cercy, a Paxton spokeswoman, went further, accusing Mr. Talarico of “abusing his office” for dating a former staff member.
Mr. Ennis responded, calling the allegation “baseless.”
There have been plenty of unmarried senators, including Cory Booker, Susan Collins and Lindsey Graham, and it’s not unusual for at least one political candidate in a crowded field to be single.
In Texas, an unmarried senator — all but assured this fall — is a rarity. John Tower, a Republican, joined the Senate in 1961 while married to his first wife. They divorced in 1976, well into his third term. He remarried six months later, and served until 1985. The last U.S. senator from Texas to win an election while unmarried appears to be Tom Connally, who was widowed while in office in 1935 and was re-elected while unmarried in 1940. He remarried in 1942.
Races featuring two unmarried major party nominees are less common. Eric Ostermeier, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, said he had identified a handful of such cases during the last 50 years.
One prominent example dates to 1960, when Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine ran against Lucia Cormier, a Democratic challenger — the first Senate race between two women. News media accounts at the time referred to them as the spinster and the widow.
These days, while voters may accept a growing range of personal life decisions, a dating candidate still needs to be smart about it, said Bob Kerrey, a former Nebraska governor and senator who was unmarried for his nearly two decades in elected office.
“Don’t be foolish,” Mr. Kerrey, a Democrat, said in an interview. “Don’t go to a sex party.”
Mr. Talarico, 37, has never been married and has largely avoided speaking in public about his dating history. Some conservatives online questioned his sexuality.
In May, Mr. Talarico said in a podcast interview that he had a longtime girlfriend. He described her as his “rock” and “best friend,” but declined to name her, citing her privacy. The campaign has since said she is Brianna Menard, a health care lobbyist who used to work as Mr. Talarico’s chief of staff. Pictures of the couple have circulated online.
The relationship began when Ms. Menard worked as a top aide to Mr. Talarico, his campaign said.
“Four years ago, after he and his then-chief of staff developed feelings for each other and started dating, she left the office to pursue other opportunities,” Mr. Ennis said. “As right-wing operatives continue to attack James’s loved ones, the campaign is asking the public to respect Brianna’s privacy as a private citizen.”
Another legislative staff member also dated Mr. Talarico, his campaign said. She worked for a different state lawmaker and never directly for Mr. Talarico, she told The Times. She declined to comment further on their relationship, citing privacy concerns. Texas House rules do not prohibit member relationships with lobbyists or staff.
Mr. Paxton, 63, is in the midst of a divorce from his wife, Angela Paxton, a state senator, who accused him of having an affair.
Mr. Paxton was photographed in recent weeks on vacation in Europe with a woman who is not his wife, and he has drawn scrutiny, including through reporting in The Times, about whether he is living with the woman before his divorce is final.
Mr. Paxton has weathered this sort of attention before. An earlier relationship with a different woman figured in his 2023 impeachment on corruption charges — the woman worked for a real estate investor accused of bribing Mr. Paxton.
After he survived the impeachment trial, Mr. Paxton and his wife stayed together.
Then, last summer, Mrs. Paxton filed for divorce, saying “recent discoveries” had pushed her to do so on “biblical grounds.” Her filing said the Paxtons stopped living together “as spouses” in June 2024.
The two women tied to Mr. Paxton did not return requests for comment. Mrs. Paxton declined to comment on the divorce proceedings or whom she would be voting for in November.
Mr. Paxton’s campaign has responded to public discussion of his personal life indirectly, by stressing his familial devotion. One of his daughters, Mattie Hayworth, has appeared onstage to defend her father during campaign events.
“My dad is not a perfect man,” Mrs. Hayworth wrote in a recent fund-raising email. “But he is a man of deep faith, genuine love for his family and an unrelenting commitment to doing right by the people of Texas.”
Mr. Kerrey, the former Nebraska senator who left office in 2001, said what he remembered most about running for office as a single person was not the tabloid attention or the rumor mill. It was the isolation.
“Loneliness,” Mr. Kerrey said. “Loneliness hurts.”
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