In a U.S. Senate race often focused on “biblical values,” not much has been said about the women most close to James Talarico and Ken Paxton.
It has been well-publicized that Paxton, current attorney general in Texas, has been in the midst of a divorce with his wife of 38 years, state Sen. Angela Paxton. She announced last year that she was seeking a divorce on “biblical grounds,” a nod to the affairs Paxton is alleged to have had.
Ken Paxton is 63, and James Talarico is 37.
Talarico never has been married but has been in a long-term dating relationship with his girlfriend, Brianna Menard, 30, a native Texan who is a health care lobbyist and his former chief of staff.
Initially, Republicans attempted to paint Talarico as ethically challenged, accusing him of dating a staff member. However, the Talarico campaign said he and Menard did not begin dating until after she left his staff.
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During his 2023 Texas House impeachment trial, allegations surfaced that Paxton had an extramarital affair with Laura Olson, a former corporate aide to Austin donor Nate Paul. Whistleblower accusations claimed Paxton used his office to help Paul in exchange for Paul employing Olson.
While evangelical Christians now form the base of the Republican Party and Paxton’s support in Texas, it wasn’t that long ago that divorce was a disqualifier for any political candidate in their eyes. By most accounts, that began to change in 1980 when evangelicals supported the election of Ronald Reagan as president.
During Paxton’s Republican primary race with sitting U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, the president of Texas Values Action told the Houston Chronicle Paxton’s alleged affairs and divorce were disqualifying.
“Our belief is adultery is an attack on marriage and that’s something we take very seriously,” said Jonathan Saenz. “I’ve heard people talking about this, saying they have pause on whether they’re going to vote for him when election day comes.”
Today, however, Texas Values Action has reversed itself and now “recommends” Paxton in the Senate race without “endorsing” him.
Saenz now says: “While we have had our concerns at times regarding Ken Paxton’s personal life, James Talarico is one of the most radical, liberal and dangerous candidates we have ever seen in Texas, including misleading voters about what the Bible says on important issues.”
Tracy Duhon in 2016 (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images for Pure Flix)
On Tuesday, The New York Times published a lengthy article about Paxton’s current love interest, Tracy Duhon.
Reporter Lauren McGaughy said Duhon, a right-wing Christian influencer, “is all but invisible on the campaign trail for U.S. Senate in Texas, seen only briefly in bystander videos, never mentioned in ads and whisked away from the prying eyes of the political press.”
However, Duhon has been seen traveling with Paxton and celebrating holidays with him. And the unmarried couple are linked to a five-bedroom home in a gated community in Frisco, a suburb north of Dallas, the Chronicle reported.
Evangelicals generally protest cohabitation of unmarried couples as well as sexual relations outside marriage.
In a 2009 resolution, the Southern Baptist Convention reaffirmed its opposition to cohabitation, declaring: “Any sexual behavior outside of this husband/wife marriage relationship is sinful, including premarital sex, adultery, bestiality and pornography.” The resolution lumped heterosexual sex outside marriage with homosexuality: “Any public policy action normalizing unbiblical sexual behavior or giving homosexual unions the legal status of marriage is diametrically opposed to God’s word.”
Yet Duhon, who has been divorced three times, is recognized as a Christian influencer, according to the Chronicle.
And when McGaughy sought an interview with Duhon, Paxton’s campaign spokeswoman, Madison Cercy, “did not answer questions for this article and instead raised questions about Mr. Talarico’s dating history.”
“This is a disgusting, invasive story that has nothing to do with the issues Texans care about,” Cercy told McGaughy. “The attorney general’s personal life is not a campaign issue, and we won’t dignify it with a response.”
She also quoted Landon Schott, senior pastor of Mercy Culture, a Fort Worth megachurch, saying: “Just because you personally don’t live every biblically based value doesn’t mean you won’t fight for it when it comes to a political stance.”
The Chronicle reported that Duhon has “created networking groups for Christian women and presented herself as an authority on maintaining family and faith through adversity.”
Related:
Paxton dodges ethics questions while claiming Talarico isn’t Christian
Don’t miss the faith argument in Talarico v. Paxton | Opinion by Mark Wingfield
Paxton’s pastor joins faith team for Cornyn
Commandments crusading Texas attorney general accused of adultery