The financial cavalry is finally arriving for Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his closely watched Senate fight against Democrat James Talarico.
New FEC documents show MAGA Inc., President Donald Trump’s super PAC, has opened its war chest for the first time in a competitive general election race, committing $10 million to television and digital ads supporting Paxton and opposing Talarico in the Texas Senate race. The PAC had more than $400 million on hand as of July 31, and Trump has vowed to spend as much as $500 million in outside money before Election Day.
The first advertisement features Paxton’s affordability agenda, including his pledge to double the child tax credit, tax breaks for medical expenses, and a $50,000 deduction for first-time homebuyers.
“While James Talarico has a record of raising taxes on working families, my Protecting the Texas Promise Agenda cuts costs and makes life more affordable. Thank you, President @realDonaldTrump, for your support. Together we will win for Texas and America,” Paxton said in reaction to the news.
James Talarico means higher taxes for Texas. pic.twitter.com/EombE1nr5U
— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) September 5, 2026
On Wednesday, tech billionaire Elon Musk also threw more than $800,000 behind Republicans in House and Senate races, with nearly $250,000 of that spending going toward Paxton’s Senate bid.
FEC filings show Musk’s America PAC, the political group that spent hundreds of millions helping elect President Donald Trump in 2024, reported more than $800,000 in independent expenditures last month, marking the opening burst of what is expected to become a $100 million to $200 million midterm spending operation by the world’s richest person.
“The cavalry arrives for Ken Paxton. #TXSen. Elon Musk’s AMERICA PAC also poured money into Texas. Talarico is gonna have his hands full,” journalist Eric Michael Garcia posted on X.
Musk plans to use his revived operation to prioritize door-knocking, digital advertising, and direct mail to energize conservative voters who typically skip midterms, The Daily Wire previously reported. Texas is expected to be a major focus of that drive. Polls and one prediction market show a dead heat, with Talarico holding a slight edge over Paxton.
The first burst of money is significant for Paxton, who has struggled to raise cash following his bruising primary battle with ousted Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
“I’m going to be making contributions to various campaigns of people that I think are good, Republicans that I think are good, people that I think are going to win and can win or are close to winning,” Trump said in the Oval Office Friday. “And this is money from MAGA Inc. This is my money, that I control.”
“I’m going to spend whatever amount of money necessary to try and help us,” Trump added.
With control of both the House and Senate up for grabs, Republicans face a competitive environment heading into Election Day, including elevated gas prices, the lingering conflict in Iran, and Trump’s sagging approval ratings. The latest RealClearPolitics polling average gives Democrats a roughly 5.7-percentage-point advantage on the generic congressional ballot.
For months, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has urged Trump to get involved while warning that Republican Senate campaign committees cannot afford to spend heavily in Texas’ costly media markets.
“I worry about that, for sure,” Thune told a local CBS affiliate about losing the Senate Republican majority in November. “I’m a realist, and I just think you — I don’t ever try and sugarcoat things. I think it’s a competitive environment right now.”
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