Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Randy White has endorsed Attorney General Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate and warned that Democrat James Talarico can’t be trusted.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer and Super Bowl MVP made the endorsement in an exclusive OutKick interview, tying his support to personal trust, shared work on child protection and opioids, and a clear break with the Democrat’s record and rhetoric.
White did not hedge. He said he knows Paxton, trusts him to keep his word, and does not know Talarico, only what he hears, which clashes with what White believes is right for Texas.
That contrast now sits at the center of a tight Texas U.S. Senate race that will help decide control of the chamber.
White described Paxton as steady, direct, and unwilling to chase applause.
“Ken Paxton will get in there and get things done. He’s not afraid,” White said.
“That’s one thing I really like about Ken. He will get in there and say what needs to be said. He doesn’t hold back. He tells the truth. He’s not trying to win a popularity contest when he’s working. It’s what’s right for the people.”
He also framed the endorsement as personal, not transactional.
“I got to know Ken as a person, and I think he is a super person. I like his attitude, the things that he does, the way he does them.”
Paxton, the Republican nominee, defeated longtime Sen. John Cornyn in a May primary runoff after President Donald Trump endorsed him shortly before that contest. The general election is set for Nov. 3.
White’s backing lands as the Texas Senate race stakes remain high for Republicans fighting to hold the chamber.
White’s relationship with Paxton grew through causes that hit close to home.
The former Cowboys defensive tackle serves as a Hall of Fame ambassador for the National Child Identification Program, which gives parents kits to keep children’s fingerprints, DNA, and other identifying information at home. White said Paxton has been a strong supporter of that effort and previously joined a coalition backing federal funding for it.
“He is a big supporter of the Child ID program, which is something I’m a big supporter of, helping kids.”
Opioids sealed the connection. White said he lost a son-in-law to an accidental overdose and watched Paxton stay on the issue.
“This opioid stuff, I lost a son-in-law to opioids, accidental. He’s been right on top of that ever since that happened. Everything he does is kind of the way I think it should be done.”
In 2024, the Texas attorney general’s office released a public service announcement with White and Texas parents who lost children to fentanyl-laced drugs. White’s praise tracks that record of public pressure on dealers and awareness work, not abstract talking points.
Voters following the same contest have also seen coverage of Paxton’s town hall appearances as the campaign moves into the fall stretch.
Asked about the Democrat, White did not soften the verdict.
“I know Ken Paxton. I know he’s going to do what he says he’s going to do. I know he’s going to go to work every day, and he’s going to help the people of Texas. This other guy, I don’t know him. But I hear what he says, and it’s different from what I believe.”
Pressed on whether Talarico is “too woke,” White answered, “Yes.”
“I don’t want to go into each specific thing, but, yeah, he’s different than what I think is right,” he added. “If this guy gets elected in Texas, I’m going to pull my hair out, and I don’t have many left. So, we’ve got to get out and vote so this doesn’t happen.”
White’s warning centers on trust and consistency. He said Talarico’s approach signals a candidate who bends with the moment.
“I think that’s a sign that we can’t trust him. He’s going to go with the way the wind flows, whatever he feels like is the best thing for him and what his goals are. We don’t need somebody like that. We need somebody like Ken Paxton who is going to stick to his guns, who is not afraid to stand up for what he believes is right.”
That distrust tracks a larger fight over culture and schools that has defined much of the James Talarico Senate campaign for conservative voters.
White pointed to transgender participation in girls’ sports and access to girls’ bathrooms as clear examples of where he and Democrats part ways.
Talarico, a former Texas House member, voted against Republican-backed restrictions on transgender athletes while serving in the legislature. In September comments to Fox News, he said he would “oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it risks safety or fairness.”
He later said that position had not changed, but he opposes a blanket statewide ban and prefers local education and sports officials to decide athlete by athlete and sport by sport. His office had not responded to a request for comment on White’s endorsement at the time of the OutKick report.
White’s view is simpler. He wants clear rules that protect girls, not case-by-case politics that leave families guessing. For many Texas parents, fairness on the field and privacy in locker rooms are not niche culture fights, they are basic expectations.
The endorsement arrives while public surveys show a close contest. A Fox News Poll conducted Sept. 24-28 found Talarico leading Paxton 51% to 49% among likely voters, inside the three-point margin of sampling error. Other recent public polls have also shown the Democrat narrowly ahead.
Paxton enters the general election as the GOP nominee after knocking off Cornyn and carrying Trump’s backing into the runoff. White’s message is that name recognition and thin poll leads do not replace character and resolve.
National Republicans are watching the same map. Toss-up Senate races will decide whether the party keeps its majority, and Texas is too large to treat as automatic.
Coverage of the tightening contest has also tracked how fellow Republicans view the race as November approaches.
White made his broader political loyalty plain.
“I love President Trump. I’m behind him 1,000%.”
He addressed higher gas prices directly and still defended the larger project of restoring safety and strength.
“These gas prices, we’re paying a little more for gas right now. But I tell you what, he’s saving the world. And we’ve got to pay a little bit more for gas, OK, well, let’s pay it for a while,” White said. “He’ll get gas prices back down where they were. It’s just something that’s part of the process of getting America back where it needs to be and making it safe.”
On foreign pressure and conflict, he added that hard steps were necessary. “We had to do it. You had to,” White said. “They’re never going to stop. They are never going to stop.... What President Trump is doing, I think, is the best thing for our country.”
That is the frame White applied to the Senate choice as well: stick with people who mean what they say when the pressure rises.
Texas does not need another politician who floats with the wind. It needs leaders who keep their word, protect girls’ sports, fight fentanyl, and show up for the people who actually live with the results.