Ken Paxton’s ‘October Surprises’ Are Pure Disinformation

As polls for the Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico remain tight, right-wing influencers, media outlets, and Paxton campaign surrogates have taken their shot at ginning up an “October surprise” by spreading at least two extraordinary stories aimed to discredit Talarico. 

The first was that Talarico, who was taking time off the campaign trail early this month to recover from the flu, had actually checked into a psychiatric hospital in Ohio due to a mental breakdown. The second, which unfolded as early voting kicked off, involved unsolicited text messages and mailers sent to Texan voters regarding resources for transgender youth—a topic that Paxton has said is his best line of political attack and that his campaign’s largest financial backer, Elon Musk, has hammered Talarico on in recent weeks.

But both stories turned out to be disinformation, spread maliciously or recklessly in many cases by amateur-ish “influencers” whose shoddy work was easily exposed. (Hillary Clinton’s emails, these would-be scandals are not.)

The first attempted surprise started life around October 8. That morning, Sara Gonzales, a host on Glenn Beck’s BlazeTV network and the vice president of the anti-LGBTQ group Texas Family Project, informed her more than 518,000 followers: “I have received unverified information on James Talarico’s whereabouts. If true, it will END his campaign.” Two hours later, Paxton himself—who remains the state’s attorney general until January—alleged in a post on X that Talarico was having “a full-blown mental Tala-freak-out” and requested “proof of life.”

Within minutes of Paxton’s post, an anonymous X account that uses a photo of a young red headed woman, “TickleTexts,” spun up the allegation into a full-blown theory that Talarico was in a mental facility and by the next day had identified the Lindner Center, a psychiatric hospital in Ohio, as the place where Talarico was hospitalized. A right-wing influencer named Rhein Amacher separately shared a recording of a call purporting to prove the Lindner Center had admitted Talarico. 

Michelle Smith, a senior adviser to Paxton, added on social media that a doctor told a friend of hers that Talarico “has definitely been admitted to a mental institution.” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Musk made numerous posts about Talarico’s absence, implying that his campaign was not being truthful. 

But the story then swiftly fell apart. On the evening of October 11, the Linder Center denied that Talarico was ever a patient, and the following day the New York Times reported on home security footage Talarico provided that proved he had been at his residence while recovering from the flu and not in Ohio. 

Even right wingers including Texas journalist Tony Ortiz expressed dismay about the slipshod influencing effort. Conservative commentator Carmine Sabia wrote: “I support Ken Paxton, but the truth matters more than winning on a lie.” 

As one ostensible surprise fizzled, another took its place. Starting around October 11, right-wing influencers began posting on social media about unsolicited texts regarding a “complete guide on bathrooms and beyond for trans kids at school” that linked to the real website of the Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT), a transgender advocacy group.  

Among the early posters was Gunther Eagleman, an account with more than 1.7 million followers that is operated by Texas resident David J. Freeman, a staunch Paxton supporter. “Nobody asked for this,” Freeman wrote on October 12. “It went straight to a stranger’s phone, linking to a “BACK-TO-SCHOOL TOOLKIT” from a trans activist group. They aren’t even hiding it anymore. They’re going around parents and texting it to whoever they can reach. This is the agenda Gina Hinojosa and James Talarico’s party has been pushing for years. Texas parents decide what their kids learn. Not activists blasting out mass texts. VOTE RED.”

On October 13, Republican state Representative Jeff Leach, who introduced Paxton at an August 2026 Senate campaign event in Allen, sent a formal request to Paxton to open an investigation into “organizations and individuals engaged in encouraging, instructing, or assisting Texans in circumventing, evading, or violating the requirements of [Senate Bill] 12, the Texas Parents Bill of Rights.”

The following day, TENT denied sending the messages and sent cease and desist notices to Peerless Network and Infobip, two mass texting platforms that were used by an unnamed client to send the messages. 

But whoever was impersonating TENT wasn’t done. 

In the following days, some voters began to receive mass mailers that included a “Texas Trans & LGBTQ+ Student Resource Guide,” which also directed readers to the TENT website. Included in the guide was information about child emancipation that was absent from the TENT website. On October 17, TENT updated its website with a disclaimer. 

“We are aware of text messages and now physical mailers that have been circulated concerning TENT that appear to have been issued by or on behalf of the organization,” the website reads. “These text messages and mailers were not authored, authorized, approved, or distributed by TENT and are not affiliated with our organization. The texts do not represent the official position or communications of the organization.”

The next day, despite the disavowal, conservative social media accounts and right-wing influencers including Gonzalez began posting about the mailers.“This was sent to my home,” Gonzales wrote. “Addressed to the ‘students’ of our family from the ‘Texas Transgender Student Union.’ It coaches minors on what to do if their parents are not supportive of their “trans” identity and walks them through getting emancipated. THIS IS EVIL!!!!!”

Gonzales has served as a surrogate for Paxton’s campaign and spoke onstage at his primary-night watch party in Dallas. Her post was picked up in right-wing outlets such as the Dallas Express, whose publisher, Monty Bennett, is a major Paxton donor. 

“Texan residents are now reporting receiving mailers allegedly from the Texas Transgender Student Union,” wrote Dallas Express reporter Carlos Turcios on X. “Are they seriously trying to encourage students and teachers to break state law?” 

Initial reports about the mailers noted that there is no corporation or nonprofit registered in Texas under the name Texas Transgender Student Union, which appears as the sender on the mailers’ envelopes. On October 20, the Observer reported that the Texas Transgender Student Union was registered anonymously as an LLC in Wyoming in September using Northwest Registered Agent, a commercial registered agent provider that has since cut ties with the LLC.

Sources with access to commercial shipping databases told the Observer the barcode on the mailers was linked to Snailworks, a mail tracking company. Snailworks received federal campaign payments from only one group in 2026: the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). In a statement to the Observer, Snailworks confirmed its mail tracking role but would not say who paid them in relation to the deceptive mailers. The NRCC told the Observer it had nothing to do with the mailers. 

On October 23, CBS reported that the United States Postal Service had identified the holder of the bulk mail permit associated with the mailers: Three Z Printing, an Illinois-based company that is owned by the Zerrusen family. Bill Zerrusen has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican PACs. Both he and his son Matt, who lives in the Dallas area and has donated more than $120,000 to Republican PACs, have been photographed with President Donald Trump. Both are active in Catholic religious circles through their nonprofit, Newman Ministry. 

Bill and Matt Zerrusen did not respond to requests for comment. 

Social media posts indicate Matt Zerrusen has connections to Republican megadonors in Dallas. A 2019 Facebook post shows Doug Deason, a major Paxton donor, with Zerrusen on a private jet flying to Mar-a-Lago. 

“I have nothing whatsoever to do with those mailers,” Deason told the Observer via email. “I did not conceive of the idea, I did not fund them and I do not know who is behind them.”

Deason also said that he was unaware of the mailers until Matt Zerrusen texted him about “conspiracy theories flying around social media”; that he has known Zerrusen for 10 years but hasn’t hung out with him in several years; and that Zerrusen explained early on that Three Z Printing does “projects for all sides.” (The Observer found no records of Democratic campaigns or candidates paying Three Z; the only federal political campaign that has paid Three Z Printing since 2020 was that of Earl Granville, who unsuccessfully ran in the 2020 Republican primary for Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional district.)

“He can find out who the client is, I am sure,” Deason wrote, referring to Zerrusen. “But, I suspect he would not reveal who it is.”

Deason also made clear his disapproval. “I don’t like those types of covert disingenuous tactics in any situation,” Deason wrote. “Especially politics.”

A similar tactic was previously used in Dallas in 2021, when Bennett, the publisher of the Dallas Express, worked with the controversial California-based public relations firm Crowds on Demand to create a fake Black Lives Matter group that was incorporated in Delaware using a registered agent service and sent letters to white families telling them not to send their kids to Ivy League schools, spurring a major reaction online and in right-wing media. 

Zerrusen also has connections to those in Bennett’s orbit. Sarah Zubiate, Bennett’s wife, commented on an Instagram post Zerrusen made in September 2025 featuring a picture of him with Charlie Kirk. Last year, a pseudonymous author for the Dallas Express quoted Zerrusen in an article about the impact of Kirk’s assassination on youth churchgoing. And Zerrusen’s X account is also followed by Aaron Harris, a Republican political consultant who has been involved in several of Bennett’s political schemes, including managing astroturf efforts. Bennett did not respond to requests for comment.

While the strategy behind these mailers may be familiar, exactly who is behind them is still uncertain. But likely not for long. 

On October 21, Leach sent another letter to Paxton urging him to investigate, citing “new information” that raised questions about the identity and the motives of the sender. “I expect a thorough investigation regardless of who is responsible, what their political affiliation may be, or which political interests they seek to advance,” Leach wrote.

The next day, TENT filed a petition in Travis County district court seeking permission to take depositions in order to identify unnamed defendants for a possible lawsuit.  Ahead of a hearing scheduled for this week in Travis County, Chris Hilton—a lawyer who worked under Attorney General Paxton, left temporarily to defend him in his impeachment trial, and was ultimately forced out of his position amid sexual harassment allegations—was retained as counsel for the Texas Trangender Student Union.

Paxton’s campaign has denied involvement in the mailers. After the texts and mailers went out, TENT reported threats of violence. Another group mentioned in the mailers, OutYouth, temporarily closed its in-person programs due to security concerns. 

West Texas District Attorney Sarah Stogner, a Republican who did not vote for Paxton during early voting, has separately opened a forgery investigation. She told the Observer she believes the mailers were an obvious ploy to rile up conservative voters ahead of the election and intends to subpoena companies and individuals involved in the mailers. (So far, no prominent liberal influencers seem to have received the nominally pro-LBGTQ mailers.)

“It’s scary to think the government wants to indoctrinate our children,” Stogner posted on X. “It’s not necessarily a legitimate fear, but that doesn’t stop political operatives from using it to influence voters.”

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These attempted October surprises have not appeared to weaken Talarico, who is still narrowly leading in polls. Instead of channeling anger toward Talarico, who has supported transgender rights broadly despite recently backtracking on some issues such as sports participation, the shadiness of the apparent Republican propaganda operation has led to backfire. 

John Huffman, the Republican former Mayor of Southlake—where culture wars over LGBTQ+ rights in the public school system became national news—called the content of the mailers “monstrous” while denouncing the dishonest strategy behind them.

“The right-wing grifters responsible for sending these mailers to our children think voters are desperately stupid and that Paxton’s only shot at winning is creating outrage with dirty tricks – not exactly the talisman of a strong campaign or good candidate,” Huffman wrote on X. “My exhortation — If you’re voting Paxton, do it because you genuinely believe he’s the better candidate, not because you fell for some dumb false-flag mailer.”

When Huffman voted early, he left the Senate choice blank.