Republicans are unleashing a major cash offensive in Texas as President Donald Trump and Senate leaders move to help GOP nominee Ken Paxton fend off Democrat James Talarico.
Texas PAC, a newly formed group connected to the Senate Leadership Fund, reserved roughly $32 million in broadcast television advertising Friday across the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin media markets, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact.
It marks the first general election ad purchase in Texas by the political network aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune after he and his allies fought Paxton in the primary.
The investment comes days after MAGA Inc., the powerful super PAC aligned with Trump, committed $10 million to the race. It was the group’s first general election expenditure of the midterm cycle.
Senate Republicans had been reluctant to pour national money into Texas, a state the party has dominated for decades. But Paxton’s fundraising disadvantage and Talarico’s narrow advantage across most recent public polls have forced GOP power brokers to treat the contest as a genuine battleground.
Thune had publicly called on Trump’s political operation to assist Paxton, pointing to the steep cost of advertising across Texas’ 20 media markets.
Paxton entered the general election after defeating longtime Sen. John Cornyn in a late-May Republican runoff. Senate Republicans initially backed Cornyn, a veteran fundraiser, while warning that controversies surrounding Paxton could make the seat harder and more expensive to defend.
OneNation, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Senate Leadership Fund, spent millions of dollars promoting Cornyn during the summer of 2025. Republican leaders later rallied behind Paxton following his primary victory, hosting fundraisers and publicly supporting the nominee.
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Until Friday, however, the Senate Leadership Fund’s political network had remained out of the Texas television battle.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
The organization previously reserved $342 million across eight competitive Senate contests. Five involve Republican-held seats, while three are Democratic seats the GOP hopes to capture. Additional resources have since flowed into races in Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina.
Talarico has used his considerable financial advantage to blanket Texas with advertisements introducing himself and blaming Republicans for rising household expenses.
That early dominance is now being challenged by Trump’s political operation, Elon Musk’s America PAC and the Senate Leadership Fund network.
America PAC has spent more than $2.6 million on phone outreach, text messages and printed advertisements supporting Paxton and targeting Talarico.
Republican organizations have spent or reserved $60.8 million in advertising since Paxton secured the nomination, including bookings running through the end of September, according to AdImpact. Democratic spending stands at $43.7 million, with nearly all of it coming directly from Talarico’s campaign.
Candidate campaigns receive more favorable broadcast and radio rates than outside super PACs, allowing Talarico’s money to purchase more airtime.
Paxton’s campaign has not yet made a major television purchase of its own, despite its ability to secure cheaper advertising rates than the outside groups now spending millions to support him.
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