Texas Cancer Institute Wins Voter Backing After Early Opposition from Ken Paxton
A Texas program launched in 2007 with $3 billion in state funds has generated substantial research output and public support, despite Ken Paxton voting against it at the time.
In 2007 Governor Rick Perry introduced a $3 billion Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, aiming to boost research and prevention across the state. The legislation sailed through the legislature with strong bipartisan support and was later ratified by 61 percent of voters as a constitutional amendment. Ken Paxton, then representing Collin County, cast votes against the bill that created the institute and against the amendment that placed it on the ballot.
The institute has since funded dozens of child and adolescent cancer studies, drawn over $12 billion in outside investment, and earned public approval that led to a second $3 billion funding vote in 2019. Paxton also co-authored legislation that blocked a state-mandated HPV vaccine for sixth-graders, a policy later linked to lower vaccination rates in Texas. While the program faced a grant-awarding scandal in 2012, it remains popular among Texans and continues to influence health-policy debates ahead of upcoming elections.
Why it matters
The story shows how early legislative choices can shape long-term health research funding and public health outcomes.
How this story developed
- Jul 28 Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico accused of violating state voting residency rules
- Aug 5 A July poll shows Talarico at 45% and Paxton at 40% in the Senate race.
- Aug 10 Republican Rep. Max Miller has remained on the ballot for Ohio’s 7th District after the certification deadline passed, even as his ex-wife accuses him of severe abuse.
- Aug 11 Miller filed paperwork to initiate a House Ethics Committee investigation of himself.
- Aug 18 Jacob Smith, former deputy legislative director for Sen. John Cornyn, joined Talarico’s campaign as deputy policy director.
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