Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico announced Thursday that his campaign raised $64 million in the third quarter, setting a fundraising record in the Senate as the party poured outside money into the race to support Republican candidate Ken Paxton in the 2026 midterm elections.
The campaign said the amount was the highest ever reported by a Senate candidate in the July-September period, surpassing the previous record of $57 million set by South Carolina Democrat Jamie Harrison, who lost his race against Republican Lindsey Graham in 2020.
Ahead of quarterly filing deadlines with the Federal Election Commission, Talarico’s campaign said it has raised more than $134 million since the campaign began last year.
“Grassroots donors across Texas are coming together to end billionaires’ control of politics and lower costs for working families,” Talarico said in a statement.
The campaign says more than 1.3 million people have donated so far, and 97% of donations were less than $100. In response, Paxton announced earlier this month that two fundraising committees associated with his campaign raised a total of $18 million during the quarter.
A complete picture of a candidate’s financial situation will be revealed after quarterly reports are filed with the FEC. The filing will show how much each campaign has spent and how much cash is left in the final stages.
But the gap in direct funding is only part of the financial picture. According to AdImpact, Republican outside groups have spent more than $175 million supporting Paxton and attacking Talarico since September 1, helping to make up for the slump in Paxton’s campaign fundraising. Total political advertising during the election campaign exceeded $500 million.
space x and tesla While CEO Elon Musk has contributed $10 million to a pro-Paxton super PAC and emerged as a major force in the race, his America PAC has spent about $9.4 million on the Talarico attack and another $1.8 million supporting Paxton, according to FEC filings and figures confirmed Monday by a spokesperson for Musk’s America PAC.
The source of Talarico’s money is important because federal law guarantees candidates lower rates for TV ads than super PACs, allowing Mr. Talarico to use his campaign funds to get more TV exposure than non-Republican groups.
A Democrat hasn’t won a statewide race in Texas since 1994, and the party hasn’t won a U.S. Senate race in Texas since 1988. But the Fifty Plus One polling average shows Mr. Talarico leading Mr. Paxton 48.5% to 45.2%, a 3.3 percentage point lead, forcing Republicans to devote significant resources to traditionally safe havens.
Talarico’s fundraising also exceeded the Texas Democratic Party’s previous record. Beto O’Rourke raised $38.1 million in the third quarter of 2018 during his challenge to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
