Ken Paxton may hand a big win to Democrats—and LGBTQ+ Texans

Politicians like Ken Paxton, who just secured the Republican nomination for a Texas Senate seat, have built entire careers turning trans Texans into political prey. Not because trans people represented any meaningful threat to the state, but because fear is useful when you have nothing else to offer and when people get a little tired of racism. That does not mean they do not still use racism; they absolutely do, constantly. But trans panic became the headliner. Fear keeps people emotionally activated while their quality of life deteriorates around them. And Paxton’s securing this nomination may ultimately become the death rattle for Texas Republicans, handing progressive Democrat James Talarico a victory for the record books.Related: Texas AG Ken Paxton calls James Talarico’s support for trans kids ‘weird’ in runoff victory speechIf you were to ask Paxton, every problem in America is now supposedly caused by trans people. Rising housing costs. Trans people. Failing schools. Trans people. Health care collapse. Trans people. Corporate greed. Trans people. The loneliness crisis. Inflation. Book bans. The collapse of public trust. Somehow, always, a tiny vulnerable minority was supposedly responsible for the unraveling of American life. And for a while, the strategy worked. But eventually, people notice the roads are still crumbling, their rent is still unaffordable, their wages remain stagnant, their schools are still underfunded, their health care is still impossible to navigate, their power grid is still unreliable, and their government is still consumed by corruption scandals, billionaire worship, Christian nationalist performance art, and endless culture war hysteria. What if trans kids were never the problem?That question now hangs over Texas as Talarico emerges as the strongest Democratic Senate candidate the state has seen in years following Paxton’s Republican runoff victory. Donald Trump and Ken Paxton may ultimately become the men who help flip Texa