KENNEDALE, Texas — As the Texas Senate race intensifies, candidates Ken Paxton and James Talarico outlined contrasting approaches to address the state’s rising cost of living during separate events this week in North Texas. Both contenders, seeking to unseat the incumbent, emphasized affordability as a central campaign issue, but proposed markedly different policy solutions.

Ken Paxton, the Republican Texas attorney general, held a campaign event Tuesday at a crowded Mexican restaurant in Allen, where he introduced a plan focused primarily on tax deductions aimed at easing financial burdens for Texans. Among his proposals were deductions of up to $25,000 for healthcare costs, $5,000 for “healthy living” expenses such as gym memberships and certain medications like GLP-1 drugs, and $50,000 each for first and second homes. Paxton framed his plan as a measure to counter what he described as “socialist” policies promoted by his Democratic opponent.

The following evening at the Esports Stadium Arlington, Democrat James Talarico, a state representative, presented his vision from behind a teleprompter before an audience exceeding 1,000 people. Talarico’s plan called for increasing wages, repealing recent tax cuts for billionaires, providing down payment assistance for first-time home buyers, and expanding an energy strategy inclusive of both renewables and oil and gas. He also endorsed the concept of an artificial intelligence dividend, which would provide direct payments to those economically displaced by AI technologies.

Talarico criticized what he described as a system favoring the ultrawealthy and appealed across party lines for support against entrenched economic inequities. He also rejected accusations from Paxton and his affiliates labeling him as a socialist, highlighting that he is not affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America — a claim confirmed by the group’s communications director. Analysts noted Paxton’s campaign is leveraging such rhetoric amid Talarico’s lead in some polls and his advantage in fundraising.

Economic experts from both sides assessed the candidates’ proposals, largely characterizing Talarico’s platform as aligned with mainstream Democratic populism and Paxton’s approach as primarily benefiting higher-income individuals. Jessica Riedl, a budget and tax expert at the Brookings Institution, observed that both campaigns are promoting “poll-tested” policies that promise benefits funded by taxing the wealthiest Americans. She cautioned that significant expansions to the child tax credit, agreed upon by both candidates, could entail multitrillion-dollar costs over the next decade.

Jared Bernstein, former chair of President Joe Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers, praised aspects of Talarico’s plan, such as measures to increase housing supply and to address tax evasion. However, he expressed skepticism regarding how lower-income Texans would gain from repealing top-end tax breaks. Bernstein also criticized Paxton’s plan as costly and unlikely to deliver meaningful relief to the state’s most economically vulnerable populations, noting the campaign has not detailed financing mechanisms for its proposals.

With the Senate race heating up, both candidates are sharpening their messages around economic issues amid voters’ growing concerns about affordability in Texas.