James Talarico’s campaign on Thursday criticized Elon Musk, the biggest spender of the 2026 election cycle, for funding his Texas Senate race, as the feud between the Democratic candidate and the world’s richest man continues.
A video posted Thursday by the Talarico campaign account shows a new ad targeting Musk, who is making record spending in support of Republican candidate Ken Paxton, telling him that “Texas is not for sale.”
“Are you still seeing these attack ads against James Talarico? Look at them a little harder. The same super PAC is paying for almost every ad,” the video’s narrator chimes in. “But who is funding these underground finance groups? Elon Musk.”
“He is almost single-handedly funding the effort to elect Ken Paxton to the U.S. Senate,” the narrator continued.
“Elon wants to buy up our land, he wants to buy up our water, and now he wants to buy his own personal U.S. Senate seat. He knows that if his millions drag the most corrupt politician in Texas to the finish line, Ken Paxton will owe him everything.”
The new ad was removed with less than two weeks until the midterm elections and as the feud between Talarico and Musk continues.
“There’s something seriously wrong with James Talarico,” Musk said in a post on X on Wednesday. And on Thursday, while reposting a video about voter ID requirements, he wrote to X, “Talarico hates Texas and America.”
Talarico responded to the earlier post Wednesday by saying, “There is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows a trillionaire to buy a private United States Senate seat.”
of tesla and space x Based on CNBC’s calculations, CEOs have spent about $366 million in 40 races so far in the midterm elections, making Mr. Musk the largest individual donor this cycle. Much of that spending was based in Texas, with the company moving its headquarters and personal domicile to Texas.
At least $189.6 million of Mr. Musk’s political spending has supported Mr. Paxton, Mr. Talarico’s opponent and Republican Senate candidate in Texas, in various ways. Talarico held a 3 percentage point lead over Paxton as of Oct. 23, according to an average of polls compiled by Fifty Plus One.
