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The Texas Senate candidates have two radically different visions of Christianity

A religious fight is brewing in the Lone Star state.

Now that Ken Paxton, the conservative attorney general of Texas, has defeated incumbent John Cornyn for the Republican Senate nomination, we may see something unusual in modern American elections: a theological throwdown.

In a closely watched and competitive race, Paxton will be facing off against James Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian and the Democratic nominee. The race is now set to be a battle between two very different worldviews about the role of Christianity.

That Democrats are even able to hold up their end of such a debate is unusual in a political moment when “Christian” has come to be synonymous with “right-wing.” Talarico has been trying to change that narrative — now he gets to face off against a flawed Republican with a more typical evangelical message.

The US Senate race in Texas is set: Republican Ken Paxton will face off against Democrat James Talarico.

It’s going to be a closely watched race: Talarico isn’t pushing a traditional anti-Donald Trump message, instead talking about his faith, the billionaire class, and corruption. Paxton, meanwhile, is weighed down by personal, political, and legal scandals.

But the race is also a proxy war for two questions about religion in American politics today: what “Christianity” means, and if personal behavior matters.

Talarico earned significant media attention in his primary for the progressive tilt of his Christian faith — one of forgiveness, love, and righteous anger against the wealthy and powerful. Yet he’s also been ridiculed by the religious right as a false prophet: a Christian in name only who launders left-wing social views through faith, supports abortion, and once argued that God is nonbinary.

Meanwhile, Paxton’s nomination sets up an interesting foil: He’s a formerly impeached and indicted politician in the middle of a divorce his wife sought “on biblical grounds.” And he has championed a right-wing brand of Christian politics, embracing the “Christian nationalist” movement’s efforts to break down the walls between church and state, while fending off bipartisan attacks on his personal morals.

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