A political group associated with US President Donald Trump has announced it will spend $10 million on television and digital advertising in Texas ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
The report, filed Saturday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), represents the first major spending in a general election by MAGA Inc., a super PAC named after President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.
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The ads are expected to focus on Democratic candidate James Talarico, 37, who is running for the U.S. Senate against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is supported by President Trump.
There is speculation that Democrats have a chance to flip one of Texas’ Senate seats for the first time since 1993.
Paxton has weathered a series of scandals and is also facing a state impeachment trial. Still, Democrats have faced repeated defeats in Texas and have not won any statewide electoral office in more than 30 years.
In a statement Saturday, MAGA sought to portray Talarico as far removed from everyday Texans.
“High-tax Talarico is trying to take money out of Texans’ pockets,” said spokesman Alex Pfeiffer. “MAGA intends to inform Texas of Talarico’s radical policies and elect Ken Paxton to the U.S. Senate.”
Texas is often considered a Republican stronghold, but President Trump’s growing unpopularity and concerns about the cost of living are encouraging Democrats like Talarico ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Republicans currently hold slim majorities in both the House and Senate. But Democrats hope to flip several key seats to break Republican control of Congress.
Whoever wins control of Congress will likely be able to shape President Trump’s legislative agenda for the final two years of his presidency.
The ad, released Saturday, focuses on tax policy and accuses Democrats of asking voters for burdensome tax increases.
Democrats, on the other hand, have traditionally accused Republicans of giving tax cuts to the wealthiest people.
That criticism resurfaced last year when the Republican-led Congress passed President Trump’s flagship bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, along party lines.
In addition to increasing spending on Trump’s priorities such as defense and immigration, the bill would also make permanent tax cuts introduced by Trump during his first term and expand the federal inheritance tax exemption.
Critics said such tax cuts would primarily benefit wealthy earners.
Criticism of Talarico’s economic policies prompted his campaign to accuse the candidate’s right-wing opponents of pouring outside money into his campaign and misrepresenting his record.
“The billionaire-backed underground finance group is lying about James Talarico because they fear the people-power movement we are building to fix this broken and corrupt political system,” campaign spokesperson JT Ennis said in response to Saturday’s announcement.
“Mr. James is proud to have voted for the largest property tax cut in Texas history and has consistently voted for tax cuts for working Texans.”
Texas has been a focus of Republican strategy throughout the midterm elections.
Last year, Trump officials petitioned Texas lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional map to give Republicans an advantage in picking up five more seats in the House.
After Texas followed suit, other Republican-led states followed suit, and Democrats stepped up similar efforts in California and other states.
President Trump is scheduled to travel to Dallas, Texas, this week to headline the first-ever Republican midterm convention. He is scheduled to speak at the gatherings on both nights.
Mr. Trump has made himself a central part of the Republican Party’s strategy for the midterm elections, traveling around the country holding rallies and supporting party members. “What I really want you to do is pretend I’m on the ballot,” he said at a rally in South Carolina last month.
But questions have been raised about the huge amount of money raised by MAGA and whether it will be distributed to Republican candidates who voted against it.
Faced with these questions, President Trump told reporters Friday that he plans to allocate $400 million to $500 million from MAGA to help Republicans in the midterm elections.
Trump has also used his influence to shape Republican primaries across the country, backing his preferred candidates.
For example, despite concerns that the attorney general’s scandal could hurt his chances in the general election, Paxton won the party’s May primary over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn with the president’s support.
