MCARDLE: Why the Former Libertarian Party Chair Is Voting for Ken Paxton

AI summary of an opinion column by Angela McArdle. The views are hers. Factual claims are checked in Quick Context.

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In an Oct. 30, 2026 column for Texas Scorecard (read the original), former Libertarian Party chair Angela McArdle argues that Texas libertarians should vote for Republican Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate rather than Democrat James Talarico or Libertarian Ted Brown. Her pitch is "Vote, just don't waste your vote."

She says a Talarico win would be "a disaster for Texas and America," citing his record on taxes, energy, school choice, guns, COVID-era masks and vaccines, and crypto regulation. She praises Paxton for suing the SEC over crypto rules and the Biden administration more than 100 times. She also argues that a Senator Paxton could help win pardons for people she calls "crypto prisoners." She casts Brown as a "paper candidate" who would split the vote.

Why It's Here

Liberty and prudence. The column takes on an old question for people of conscience: whether to vote your purest preference or the strongest available defense of freedom. Render to Caesar, wisely. Voting is a stewardship, and this is one serious argument about how to spend it. Re-sharing it here is not an endorsement.

About the Author

Angela McArdle chaired the Libertarian National Committee and writes that she moved to Texas from California four years ago. The column ran in the opinion section of Texas Scorecard, a conservative Texas outlet.

Quick Context

• "Sued the Biden administration 106 times": This matches the Texas Attorney General's own count (OAG, Dallas Observer).
• SEC crypto suit, "Nov. 25, 2024": Paxton announced it that day, but Texas was one of 18 states in a coalition complaint filed Nov. 14, 2024 in Kentucky (OAG). He didn't sue alone.
• "Crypto prisoners convicted by the previous administration": This is overstated. Some of the cases started under Biden, but Roman Storm's partial conviction and Keonne Rodriguez's guilty plea both came in 2025, under the current Justice Department. Pardons are the President's power alone. A senator can only advocate for them.
• Claims about Talarico's positions and about Ted Brown (protests, motives) are the author's characterizations. We didn't verify them independently.

Original column by Angela McArdle at Texas Scorecard