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2026 Senate Candidates Address the Issues

Talarico, Paxton weigh in on Social Security, caregiving

Paul Duggan,

AARP

Published September 01, 2026

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Texas voters will elect a new U.S. senator on Nov. 3 and on the ballot are the state’s attorney general and a member of the Texas House of Representatives.

Republican Ken Paxton, 63, who lives in northeast Texas, was a state lawmaker for 12 years before being elected attorney general in 2014. Democrat James Talarico, 37, a former middle school teacher first elected to the state Legislature in 2018, represents a district that includes Austin in the central Texas Hill Country. The Bulletin posed questions to each nominee about issues important to older voters. They responded in writing, and questions and their answers were edited for clarity and brevity.

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How would you work to protect and strengthen Social Security for older Americans, their children and grandchildren?

TALARICO: Every Texan deserves to know they’ll be able to retire and reap the benefits of Social Security. I will fight to ensure all Americans can afford to retire and stand up against any and all attacks on Social Security and Medicare. I’ll ensure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share into Social Security by eliminating the tax cap on the highest earners. And I’ll incentivize employer-sponsored pensions.

PAXTON: Seniors worked their entire lives and paid into Social Security with every paycheck. They earned these benefits, and Washington has no business cutting them. I’ll fight to protect Social Security for today’s retirees and keep that promise for our children and grandchildren. That means rooting out the waste, fraud and abuse draining the system, restoring accountability and refusing to let politicians raid the trust fund for unrelated spending. Texans deserve a senator who will defend what they’ve earned, protect the program’s long-term solvency and never balance Washington’s reckless budgets on the backs of our seniors.

How would you help family caregivers save money and time so they can continue caring for their loved ones?

PAXTON: Family caregivers are the backbone of how we care for aging parents and loved ones, and too often they carry that responsibility while Washington makes their lives harder. I’ll work to ease that burden by expanding tax relief for families caring for a loved one at home, cutting the red tape that drives up costs, and giving caregivers more flexibility to keep working while they provide care. Caring for family is a Texas value, not a government program, and our policies should reward it, not penalize it.

TALARICO: You judge the morality of society based on how it treats its elders. My grandmother—my MawMaw—has Alzheimer’s, and it’s been a struggle for my family to find affordable, quality care for her. Elder Texans deserve care they can afford and resources they can rely upon during their golden years. I have supported elder Texans by reducing barriers to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for seniors and disabled people. I will continue increasing access to elder care by passing legislation to expand affordable home- and community-based care for seniors, and prioritize the development of a high-quality elder care workforce. I also support filling gaps in elder care by paying workers a living wage and incentivizing providers to enter and remain in the market. We’ve got to do a much better job taking care of caregivers who are doing this critical work every day, sometimes for poverty-level wages.

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Older consumers lose tens of billions of dollars to fraud yearly from a range of scams. What will you do to combat that fraud?

TALARICO: Scammers and bad actors are stealing the life savings of our parents and grandparents—through fake investment apps, Bitcoin ATMs and impersonation calls. That is rent money. Retirement money. Medical expense money. Money that Texans worked their whole lives to save, and is already stretching too thin.

PAXTON: As Texas Attorney General, I’ve made protecting seniors from fraud a priority; my office has gone after scammers, shut down predatory operations and fought to return money to Texans who were cheated. Criminals target our parents and grandparents, and they deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. In the Senate, I’ll push for tougher penalties on fraudsters, stronger coordination between federal and state law enforcement, and accountability for the platforms that let scams flourish. I’ll expand education so seniors can spot these schemes before they lose a dime.

Older adults say they want to remain in their homes and communities as they age. What steps can be taken to expand housing, transportation and access to home care—especially in rural areas—to help them live independently?

PAXTON: Older Texans have earned the right to age in the homes and communities they love, and that’s especially hard in our rural areas. I’ll fight to expand access to home-based care, telehealth, and reliable transportation so seniors aren’t forced to leave their communities to get help. That means cutting the federal regulations that make it harder to build housing and deliver care in rural Texas, supporting the family caregivers doing this work, and letting states direct resources where they’re needed. Washington shouldn’t dictate a one-size-fits-all approach. I’ll work to give our seniors real choices and the independence to live where they want, surrounded by the people they love.

TALARICO: There’s a real housing affordability crisis in this state and in this country, and we need major federal action to ensure that all of our neighbors can stay in their homes. In the Senate, I’d do two things to lower costs and expand access to help seniors stay in their homes: First, we must build more housing in this state, because people are struggling to become homeowners. Second, people who have lived in their homes for decades are being priced out, so also making sure we’re getting relief for those long-term homeowners as well. In the State House, I passed a major housing bill, bringing Republicans and Democrats together, to lower those costs for people. And I want to take that same kind of bipartisan action on housing at the federal level.

Americans pay into Medicare throughout their lives—in taxes and premiums—and it provides them with vital health coverage. If elected, what would you do to strengthen and protect Medicare?

TALARICO: I believe that health care is a human right—it shouldn’t depend on how much money you make, on your age, or your race, or where you live. I have fought my entire time in the Texas Legislature to expand health care access, to protect people’s health care. I think we need a senator who’s going to fight to reverse the cuts made to the Affordable Care Act, who’s going to fight for a public option to compete with private health insurance companies, and work to ensure that Medicare is covering more of these vital services that people need and rely on.

PAXTON: Americans pay into Medicare their entire working lives, and they’ve earned every bit of the coverage it provides. I’ll fight to protect and strengthen Medicare for the seniors who depend on it and keep it solvent for the generations paying in now. That starts with eliminating the waste, fraud, and abuse that cost the program billions every year; money that should go to patients, not scammers. I’ll also push for more choice and competition to lower costs, protect access to doctors in rural areas, and expand telehealth so seniors can get care closer to home. Washington made a promise to our seniors, and I intend to keep it.

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Paul Duggan worked as a reporter, editor and national correspondent in 38 years at The Washington Post.

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