Dem Gets Plug from Ballpoint Caper Victim
and Hawks `Not Ken Paxton's Pen' as Merch
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August 14, 2026
Democrat James Talarico sought to rub Republican Ken Paxton's nose in the mess that his personal life has created for his U.S. Senate campaign on Friday when he released a new ad that recounts the time the Republican was accused of stealing a fancy ink pen at the courthouse in the suburb where he lived.
The 60-second spot that Talarico unveiled early this morning was drawing rave reviews on social media when the Democrat followed it up with an announcement that supporters could purchase a "Not Ken Paxton's Pen" that's available now in the merchandise collection on his campaign web site.
While the luxury pen at the heart of the alleged Paxton heist was a Mont Blanc, which cost hundreds of dollars or more, the ballpoints that Talarico is hawking can be obtained for $6 in the form of a donation to the Democrat's campaign for the U.S. Senate here in the Lone Star State. They apparently come in either black or white.
The Talarico ad on the pen snatching features a local lawyer named Joe Joplin as the victim of the ostensible caper on which the campaign commercial revolves. Joplin slams an exclamation point on the ballpoint rip-off spot when he endorses Talarico for the Senate over the Republican who plays the villain in the new ad.
The advertisement opens with a shot of Paxton passing through the metal detectors at the Collin County Courthouse back in 2013 when he was a Texas Senate member who went on to win the AG's job the following year. A narrator notes that it's the same county building where Paxton was indicted by a grand jury for securities fraud in 2015 six months after starting his new job as the state's top lawyer.
"Paxton walked up to the treys next to the metal detectors, rummaged through them and came across someone else's expensive Mont Blanc pen," according to the ad, which switches to a frame showing a Mont Blanc pen in a case. "He decided to take it for himself."
The narrator says Joplin received the pen as a "special gift" from his wife - and that he contacted security at the courthouse after he discovered that it was missing. A review of the videos at the courthouse entrance revealed that Paxton took the pen, which he returned after being contacted about the incident.
"After the police got involved, Joe got his pen back," the ad continues. "He could have pressed charges but he decided it against it - because Joe's a nice guy. He'd never take someone else's pen. But he also hasn't forgotten who took his."
The Talarico ad reaped acclaim on social media. "BREAKING: In a shocking new video, a man who was robbed by Ken Paxton is now endorsing James Talarico," according to a post by Democratic Wins Media on the X account @DemocraticWins. "This is the best ad we've seen all year."
The Democrat's latest attack ad covers a subject that's old news to Texans who've followed the political career of the former state lawmaker who's served as the attorney general here for almost 12 years. The candidate who Republican voters chose to represent the party in the Senate battle here this year has a rap sheet that includes felony charges that stemmed from an investment scheme and allegations of corruption and abuse of power that prompted 60 Texas House Republicans to vote to impeach him in 2023. The impeachment that GOP House leaders engineered was fueled by accusations of bribery that a group of former aides lodged against Paxton in a move that sparked an investigation by the FBI.
The federal law enforcement probe fizzled without any action after Texas Senate Republicans acquitted Paxton in a trial that the impeachment forced them to stage. The felony case that was conceived in Collin County where Paxton had been based as a state representative and senator culminated in an agreement by prosecutors to the drop the charges if he promised to complete community service while paying restitution to the alleged victims of the dealing. Paxton's alleged marital affairs are common knowledge as well along with the lawsuit that his wife, State Senator Angela Paxton of McKinney, filed for divorce last year.
The lion's share of Paxton supporters are aware of the details of the candidate's checkered past and have decided there's nothing there that should disqualify from holding an even higher office than the one he holds now. Some of the same Republican House members who voted to impeach the AG amid claims that he's crooked are introducing him now at campaign rallies for the Senate campaign. But that's because their own re-election campaigns could be adversely affected Paxton performs as poorly in November as the polls are showing less than three months before the vote.
Talarico has hammered Paxton relentlessly this week on a investment portfolio that he amassed with 15 homes in states from Florida to Hawaii at an estimated value of $9 million while earning slightly more than $150,000 as a high-ranking state official in his job as the AG. The courthouse pen fiasco fits into the Talarico campaign theme that paints Paxton as a grifter who doesn't miss an opportunity to enrich himself at the expense of others.
Paxton's past has made him a much bigger target for attacks than anyone who's ever run for a major public in modern Texas history. And the narrative that Paxton and the Republicans have used to portray Talarico as a dangerous lunatic has given the Democrats added opportunities for mocking his GOP foe.
The Talarico MERCH story on his web site - as an example - offers Talafreako t-shirts along with the Not Ken Paxton Pen - both of which could be collectors items someday at the race this race is going.
more to come ...
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