The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell 5/26/26 | 🅼🆂🅽🅱️🅲 Breaking News Today May 26, 2026

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]James Telerico, James Telerico, if he hasn't heard it already, is going to hear it uh on this program. Uh what what Ken Paxton said about him, and this will be the first place uh where James Terico gets a chance to respond to Ken Paxton tonight. This really will be in this hour, the campaign officially underway.

[00:00:21]>> The general election is launching. This race could determine control of the Senate. So, I can't wait to hear what he has to say.

[00:00:28]General election in Texas underway right now at this hour.

[00:00:32]>> Exactly.

[00:00:34]>> Thanks, Jen.

[00:00:35]>> Thanks, Lawrence.

[00:00:36]>> Thank you. Well, Texas Senator Lloyd Benson was one of the very few politicians in American history and the only one who I can personally remember who won and lost an election on the same night. In 1988, Lloyd Benson appeared on the ballot in all 50 states as the Democratic candidate for vice president of the United States and at the same time on the Texas ballot. Lloyd Benson appeared as a candidate for reelection to the United States Senate in Texas.

[00:01:13]the presidential ticket of Michael Dukakus and Lloyd Benson got 43% of the vote in Texas in 1988. And at the same time, the same night, Democratic Senator Lloyd Benson got 59% of the vote in his re-election campaign for Senate, thereby making Lloyd Benson the last Democrat to win a United States Senate election in the state of Texas. And the next year, James Terico was born. He is now the Democratic candidate for Senate in Texas, trying to do something that hasn't happened literally in his lifetime. Win a Texas Senate seat for the Democrats. The Texas law that allowed Lloyd Benson's name to appear on the ballot twice at the same time for two different offices was written by a Democratic state legislature and signed into law by a Democratic governor so that Lynden Johnson, the majority leader of the United States Senate at the time, could appear on the Texas ballot for two different offices in 1960. 60 and they were the same offices that Lloyd Benson appeared on the ballot for. On election night in 1960, appearing on the ballot with Lynden Johnson as his running mate, John Kennedy won the presidential vote in Texas with 50.5% of the vote. While at the very same time, Lyndon Johnson won his reelection to his Senate seat by 58% of the vote.

[00:03:03]When Lyndon Johnson moved up to the vice presidency, the Democratic governor then appointed a Democratic senator to take Lynden Johnson's place. And for some in the Democratic party, that now distant dream of Democrats winning in Texas has never died.

[00:03:24]And tonight, James Terico might be the best chance the Democrats have had to win a Senate seat in Texas in 38 years.

[00:03:33]Some polls earlier this year have shown James Terico leading both of the then Republican candidates who faced off tonight. And now we know the Republican candidate will be Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was endorsed by Donald Trump. And joining us now has been covering the election results in Texas tonight, MS Now's Ally Belchi.

[00:03:57]Ally, what's the latest? What's happening in some of those other Democratic primaries? Well, Tal Rico was a a a strong candidate to start with.

[00:04:04]Got a little stronger tonight with 63% of the vote. Ken Paxton, as you have said, uh is going to be the Democrat, the Republican candidate for Senate in Texas. That's going to be very complicating for a lot of Republicans, moderates, and independents in Texas who may not vote for Taler Rico, but they may sit home and not vote for Ken Paxton. Couple other races I just want to tell you about. The attorney general GOP race has been called in favor of Maize Middleton. He was running against the Republican member of the House, Chip Roy. That one's been won. And I know you're going to be talking to James Tarico in a couple moments. I want to take you back to the the the March primary that he won. Here's what's got to happen with with James Tyler Rico in order to win the state. There's a lot of things have to happen, but there are a few counties down in the bottom of uh Texas. These are the Rio Grand Valley counties. It's representative of things that go on around here, but heavily Latino Hispanic votes that had gone toward Donald Trump and have started moving back toward Republicans. Uh if James Tarico can appeal to that demographic, that'll be good. Then the San Antonio Austin column where he needs to do well.

[00:05:10]the area around Houston where actually he lost to Jasmine Crockett but a lot of Democratic votes in that area that Telerico's got to succeed in converting over to Terico votes and then the Fort Worth Dallas Metroplex and the counties around there. Again, Jasmine Crockett, that's her backyard. That's where she's from. She did very well in these districts. But again, those were Democratic votes. And remember, more Democrats showed up on that March 3rd primary than Republicans did. So there are, you know, obviously you got to win all over the state, but if if James Talerico can win with high margins in these particular areas, this will stand him in goodstead. The complicating factor now, perhaps in his favor, is that Ken Paxton is the Republican nominee. That's fantastic for Donald Trump. That's fantastic for the MAGA base. It may not be fantastic for for Texans in general and Texas Republicans in particular.

[00:06:02]>> Ali Veli, thank you very much.

[00:06:04]>> My pleasure. And leading off our election coverage tonight is Texas State Representative James Terico. He is the Democratic nominee for United States Senate in Texas. Thank you very much for joining us tonight. Uh this is the first time you've joined us where you know who you'll be running against in November.

[00:06:23]Is this the campaign you wanted? Terrio versus Paxton. Is this the opponent you wanted out of this Republican primary?

[00:06:32]Well, Ken Paxton embodies the broken political system that we're running against. He is the most corrupt politician in America. Three years ago tomorrow, he was impeached by his own party for using his public office, his position of public trust to enrich himself and his donors at our expense.

[00:06:54]And that is exactly the problem in our politics. It's puppet politicians who serve themselves and their billionaire mega donors instead of serving us. It's why we can't afford anything. It's why we can't get ahead no matter how hard we work. The system is rigged by corrupt politicians like Ken Paxton. And so it's going to be all of us. It's going to be Democrats, independents, and Republicans. It's going to be urban Texans, rural Texans, suburban Texans.

[00:07:22]It's going to be all of us coming together. The people versus Ken Paxton.

[00:07:27]>> Let's listen to what Ken Paxton had to say about you tonight. And I have to tell you, I don't know if you've heard this already, uh, but he spent a good deal uh of his victory speech tonight talking just about you. Here's what he had to say about you.

[00:07:47]>> My opponent is the most extreme radical the Democrats have ever nominated. He's even running a vegan campaign, whatever that is.

[00:07:57]He goes by a few names that you may all have heard of. Some people know him as Tofu Telerico.

[00:08:04]Some people call him sixthgender Jimmy.

[00:08:09]I've even heard some people call him James Telerico.

[00:08:13]And others refer to him simply as low tea Telerico.

[00:08:19]But no matter what you call him, let me tell you this. James Telerico is a threat to everything we hold dear dear in this state and in this country. He's a threat to our security and our safety.

[00:08:30]He wants open borders and even said a said a welcome mat should be at our southern border. He's a threat to our children. He wants boys and girls sports.

[00:08:41]Gender mutilation surgery performed on kids. And when asked what he loved outside of his family and friends, you heard what Brandon Gil said. His first answer was trans trans kids. That's weird. And that's a radical guy.

[00:08:56]>> He's a threat to our prosperity and Texas economy. He said you can't be a Christian if you support the oil and gas industries.

[00:09:04]>> Want to raise your t wants to raise your taxes and he won't do a single thing to lower costs for you and your family. And finally, he's a threat to our very way of life and our values. I mean, he's a vegan who thinks God is non-binary and that there's actually six biological sexes. It's hard to imagine someone more radical than that.

[00:09:25]No matter what he says or how much he raises, the reality is that James Talerico is going to be nothing more than a Texas-based p puppet for Chuck Schumer and the National Democrats.

[00:09:39]>> That is it. Uh that is as of tonight the Paxton campaign against you. Uh what is your equal time response to that?

[00:09:49]>> Well, Ken Paxton is morally unfit for office. He'll lie to you with a straight face. He's failed the character test.

[00:09:57]He's the most corrupt attorney general of our lifetime. And he puts the interests of himself over the laws of Texas. Those aren't my words. Those are the words of Ken Paxton's fellow Republicans. This November, working Texans, Democrats, independents, and Republicans alike are going to come together to defeat the most corrupt politician in America and the broken political system that he represents.

[00:10:22]So, he's going after you in very personal terms. Uh he's uh calling you he's got names for you that we just heard. Uh I don't want to repeat some of those. uh as but obviously he's going to spend a great deal of his time uh talking about you and transgender issues and children. What do you want Texas voters to understand about that?

[00:10:48]>> Well, this is how puppet politicians like Ken Paxton stay in power. You know, he's uh he spent his entire career selling us out for his donors and that I think is going to be apparent to Texans over the course of this race. And so the only way he's going to hold on to power is through distraction and division.

[00:11:09]This is the oldest strategy in the world. Divide and conquer. They divide us by party, by race, by gender, by religion, by all this culture war stuff.

[00:11:19]So we don't notice that they're picking our pockets, that they are closing our public schools all over Texas. They are gutting our healthcare, raising our premiums for Texans all over the state.

[00:11:28]And they are raising taxes on all of us while they cut taxes for themselves. And so I think Texans see through this game.

[00:11:35]They realize that we're being pitted against each other with these old tired culture war fights so that corrupt politicians like Ken Paxton can hold on to power and continue to enrich themselves and their billionaire mega donors.

[00:11:49]>> What about Texas voters who will who want to know from you on this particular issue? Uh, is Ken Paxton uh telling the truth about you uh in relation to these issues, especially involving uh what he was just talking about there, transgender issues involving children?

[00:12:10]>> No. Kim Paxton is clipping comments, taking them out of context to try to paint a picture, trying to paint me as someone I'm not. You know, Kim Paxton has a a criminal record. I have a legislative record over four terms in the Texas House of Representatives where I have brought Democrats and Republicans together to pass more than 60 bipartisan bills to cut property taxes, to raise teacher pay, to lower the cost of housing, prescription drugs, and child care across Texas. And I'm going to put that record up against Ken Paxton's criminal record any day of the week, twice on Sunday. I've called out the extremes uh in both parties on the right and the left. You know, I I've called out Ken Paxton for his blatant illegal corruption, but I also called out President Biden when he failed to secure our southern border. So, I'm not interested in going to Washington DC to serve one political party. I'm going to Washington DC to serve the people of Texas. That's the exact opposite of what Ken Paxton does. He serves himself and his billionaire mega donors at the expense of the people of this state.

[00:13:16]You just heard Ken Paxton say that you are for open borders. What's your response to that?

[00:13:22]>> I just told you that they were, you know, clipping things that I've said.

[00:13:25]This is a perfect example because I said our southern border should be like our front porch. There should be a welcome mat and a lock on the door. Meaning we can welcome immigrants who want to live the American dream, who want to make us richer and stronger in the process and secure the border and keep out people who mean to do us harm. We can do both of those things at the same time. It's puppet politicians like Ken Paxton who want to grandstand on this issue of immigration, who want to make people afraid. That's why he's he's cutting my comments in half. Uh because he wants to paint a picture uh he wants to hold on to power despite his career of corruption. So, we're going to keep telling the truth um over the course of this campaign. And I think Texans uh will know who's actually fighting for them, who's fighting to lower their costs, who's fighting corruption, and it's not Ken Paxton.

[00:14:18]>> It's very clear uh that he's going to follow the Donald Trump model in so many ways, including, by the way, his own ethical behavior according to the public record. Uh but uh you're going to be subjected to a number of nasty names.

[00:14:32]And uh we just heard a couple of them there that he tried out tonight. He'll be trying out more of those. And I'm sure people out there around the country are wondering how are you going to uh counter that?

[00:14:47]How are you going to fight back against that? Because they've seen Donald Trump use that kind of technique successfully, especially in states with a lot of Republican voters. And as we know, uh, Texas is one of those states with a lot of Republican voters who apparently respond, uh, to that kind of name calling and insult.

[00:15:10]Well, you know, I've gone to every corner of Texas already over the course of this campaign, from Bumont to El Paso, from Amarillo to Brownsville, and everywhere in between, and I can't tell you the number of of people who come up to me at the end of these events and whisper, "I'm not a Democrat." Like, they're in the witness protection program. Including a lot of people who voted for President Trump in 2024. They voted for him because they thought he was going to lower costs. They thought he was gonna um he was gonna drain the swamp. They thought he was going to end the forever wars. They thought he was going to release the Epstein files. But just one year into this administration, they've seen him do the exact opposite.

[00:15:52]They've seen him raise prices through his crazy tariffs. They've seen him grow the swamp with unprecedented corruption.

[00:16:00]They've seen him start new forever wars, including the latest war in Iran. And they saw him do everything to prevent the release of the Epstein files. And so a lot of of the president's supporters in Texas are feeling disillusioned.

[00:16:13]They're feeling disillusioned with this extremism and this corruption that is embodied by politicians like Ken Paxton.

[00:16:20]And so we have a real opportunity to build a big coalition of Democrats, independents, and Republicans who are fed up with this extremism and this corruption. That's exactly how I flipped a a Trump district in Williamson County, Texas when I first got elected to the state house. It was by building that big coalition, that big tent. And this politics of name calling, of trolling and owning, that politics has a record low approval rating in this country, including in Texas. Those nicknames don't lower your grocery bills. They don't lower the the price of gas. They don't lower the cost of housing and child care and prescription drugs and insurance. It doesn't actually improve people's lives. And so I think in this election, what you're going to see is a a deep hunger for servant leaders who are actually going to deliver for working Texans, going to make their lives easier and better and less stressful rather than enriching themselves and their billionaire mega donors. I want to go to one of the issues you would face as a United States senator now uh in the Senate and that is a vote on a war powers resolution which would limit Donald Trump's ability to continue his war in Iran. How would you vote on that?

[00:17:38]>> I would vote to limit these uh these presidential powers. Uh I would vote to end this disastrous war in Iran as quickly as possible. You know, as a millennial, I saw how military disasters like the Iraq war robbed this nation of young lives, of billions of dollars, and of our moral standing around the world.

[00:18:01]And I think this administration is making the exact same mistakes in Iran.

[00:18:07]And so, I think we need to bring this war to an end. We got to start lowering the price of gas for working Texans who are already feeling squeezed. and we got to get our foreign policy back to some kind of sanity.

[00:18:19]>> Uh James Terrio, please stay with us.

[00:18:21]We're going to squeeze in a commercial break here. I when we come back, I want to show some of the campaign ads uh that already have run against your opponent and that that he survived, which are kind of it's inconceivable uh that a candidate possibly in any other state could have survived uh what what he's already survived as a candidate. James Tel Rico, please stay with us. We'll be right back.

[00:18:47]And we're back with Texas Democratic candidate for Senate, James Terico. Uh let's look at some of the TV ads. I know you've seen cuz everyone in Texas has seen them. But these are the TV ads that Republicans ran against Ken Paxton, your new Republican opponent, and he survived these ads. Let's watch this.

[00:19:10]It's voting time, so let's cut through the Crooked Ken Paxton cheated on his wife. She's divorcing him on biblical grounds. So now Paxton's wrecking another home, sleeping around with a married mother of seven.

[00:19:25]While in office, Ken Paxton's net worth increased by up to 7,000%.

[00:19:31]How the hell is that even possible?

[00:19:33]Crooked Ken is now worth up to 12 million bucks. He owns 11 homes, claiming three of them as his primary residence. Well, we know Ken Paxton cheats. Just ask the mother of his children.

[00:19:48]Why does Ken Paxton go easy on child predators? A Waco attorney, Adam Hoffman, sexually abused a child for 3 years, and Paxton gutted the case, offering him just a slap on the wrist.

[00:20:05]Are those important issues in this campaign?

[00:20:10]>> Absolutely. Uh there is no more important issue than protecting our children. And the fact that Ken Paxton would let a known predator back out on the streets uh to me is unconscionable and it's going to be part of our prosecution of Ken Paxton in the months ahead. Texans will understand the choice that's before them. the choice of the most corrupt politician in America and and a candidate who is running on trying to lower costs and clean up corruption.

[00:20:38]There's going to be a a contrast between service and selfishness and I look forward to making that case uh to the people of Texas.

[00:20:48]Do you based on everything you've seen understand? Can you describe how Ken Paxton so massively increased his net worth on a government salary?

[00:21:01]I I think we're going to have plenty of time uh in the weeks and months ahead to explain to Texans exactly how that's possible. Some of it is already known.

[00:21:08]You know, Ken Paxton was indicted for um for fraud. Uh he was impeached for bribery. uh he uh he has shown over and over again that he's only concerned about himself and that he's willing to use his position of public trust, his public office to enrich himself at our expense. And again, Ken Paxton owns 11 homes while we can't afford one. Uh Ken Paxton's net worth went up by 7,000% while our pay has been stagnant. So, this is going to be the the the fight uh before us because this is not just about Kim Paxton. It's about the corrupt system that he embodies that he represents. Uh if we can defeat the most corrupt politician in America in this year, in this race, in this state, then we can defeat this entire corrupt system. And if people watching are ready to join the movement that we're building, I hope they'll go to james terrierico.com, sign up to volunteer, sign up to donate because we're going to need everybody if if we're going to defeat the most corrupt politician in America. There's a a University of Texas poll from April.

[00:22:20]Uh now outdated, but uh poll in April, Terico versus Paxton, just isolated the two of you. Uh, and it had you running at 42 and Ken Paxton then running at 34.

[00:22:34]Now he's a winner uh of the Republican nomination. Now he has Donald Trump's endorsements. So we don't know uh what that would mean to that polling. Now, uh, on the issue that we just discussed before the commercial break, uh, Donald Trump's war in Iran, uh, the the University of Texas poll showed in Texas 49% disapprove, 37% approve. So that your position obviously uh is the uh winning position as it were in that particular poll and the winning position with uh Texas voters. Uh how important do you think that issue that the war in Iran is going to be uh between now and November?

[00:23:23]>> I think it's going to be a very important issue. You know, Texans are feeling the pain at the pump and it's because of this disastrous war in Iran.

[00:23:31]You know, I put forward a a proposal to suspend the federal gas tax, which would lower uh gas prices by 18 cents a gallon immediately. I've also proposed suspending the federal diesel tax because when the price of diesel goes up, the price of everything goes up because that's how uh all of our goods are shipped uh and and how they're transported. And right after I did that, um, President Trump came out in support of suspending those two federal taxes.

[00:24:00]And so I think what Texans are are looking for, uh, are leaders who are going to fight for them, who are going to focus on reducing costs, focus on unrigging this economy so that it works for regular people again. And that's what we're going to be focused on for the rest of this campaign. Ken Paxton embodies this corrupt rigged system and we're going to build a movement to unrig it on behalf of the people of Texas.

[00:24:27]>> You're going to have to get Lloyd Benson's old seat on the Senate Finance Committee to be in a strong position to get those fuel taxes suspended. Uh that that's where the action is on that one.

[00:24:37]Uh there's as you know uh and I'm sure you know and I'm sure you've talked to them. Uh there are some John Cornin voters out there tonight who are gravely disappointed uh and would have a difficult time trying to cast a vote for Ken Paxton in November, but they are Republicans and they vote Republican. What do you have to say to those Cornin voters tonight who are so disappointed with this outcome on the Republican side in Texas tonight?

[00:25:08]>> Well, first I want to thank Senator Cornin for his many years representing the state of Texas in our nation's capital. uh he and I uh don't agree on everything, but we both still believe in public service. The idea that these positions of public trust are meant to be a service to our constituents. And so to Senator Cornin's supporters, I know you're feeling disappointed tonight, but I want you to know that you have a place in our campaign. This movement we're building is bigger than any political party. It's bigger than partisanship.

[00:25:44]It's about service versus selfishness.

[00:25:48]Uh it is about uh serving the people of this state, improving people's lives through public policy. And so I I would welcome uh any of of the senator's supporters to join us this evening as we embark on this journey to take back our state and take back our country from corrupt politicians like Ken Paxton.

[00:26:08]You know, there are so many millions of voters uh around this country tonight in states that have never voted for Donald Trump. Big states, New York, California, Illinois, uh all over the country, Massachusetts, and so forth, who are staring at Texas wondering how could they possibly choose Ken Paxton over John Cornin. John Cornin, a solid Republican who's done everything that solid Republicans do, a Trumpup supporting Republican. Ken Paxton uh indicted, impeached, uh caught having affairs. Uh a stunning uh personal biography uh for a politician to have and not just survive an election, but win big on the Republican side uh of of the ballot in Texas tonight. There are people out there in the country staring at Texas just wondering how that could possibly happen.

[00:27:07]Well, I just want to remind those folks around the country that our campaign is leading in every public and private poll that we've seen against Ken Paxton. And so, I think there's going to be a backlash to this extremism and this corruption that Kim Paxton embodies. I think you're going to see those old-fashioned values of honesty, integrity, and service make a comeback in this election, in this state, in this race. And I urge anyone watching to join us and help us make this possible because this is not just about Texas.

[00:27:43]This is about whether or not we can transform this broken, corrupt political system. And it's going to take all of us uh joining together to make that possible. And so I I feel confident. I feel it in my bones that we are going to win this race in Texas and we're going to transform this broken system in this country.

[00:28:02]>> James Telerico, you joined us here on the program uh for the first time before you won the Democratic nomination. Then you joined us immediately after winning the Democratic nomination, but tonight feels like the first real night of this campaign. It is James Terico versus Ken Paxton in Texas. Thank you very much for starting off that campaign here tonight.

[00:28:25]>> Thank you, sir.

[00:28:26]>> Thank you.

[00:28:28]Coming up, will the defeated Texas Republican Senator John Cornin become the next Republican Senator who might vote against Donald Trump's war? That's next.