President Donald Trump’s political operation is making a major financial move in Texas, pouring $10 million into television and digital advertising to help Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton in his battle against Democrat James Talarico.
The expenditure by MAGA Inc., the powerful super PAC aligned with Trump, was disclosed Saturday in a filing with the Federal Election Commission.
It represents the group’s first significant spending in a major general-election contest of the 2026 midterms and puts additional national attention on a Texas Senate race that has become increasingly expensive and competitive.
MAGA Inc. Drops $10 Million Into Texas
The new advertising campaign will focus heavily on taxes and the cost of living, two issues receiving considerable attention from voters heading into November.
The MAGA Inc. ads portray Talarico as supporting tax increases and present Paxton as favoring tax relief for families and first-time homebuyers.
Talarico’s campaign disputes the characterization of his tax record, arguing that the Democrat supports higher taxes on wealthy households while also backing property-tax relief for working Texans.
That distinction is important: the claim that Talarico broadly wants to raise Texans’ taxes comes from Paxton’s political allies and is being challenged by Talarico’s campaign.
The $10 million investment nevertheless gives Republicans substantial additional advertising power as the race enters its final months.
Trump Has Made Texas a Priority
Trump has made clear that he considers the Texas Senate contest an important race for Republicans.
Paxton became the GOP nominee after defeating longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn in a May primary runoff. Trump had endorsed Paxton in the Republican contest.
The president has since increased his criticism of Talarico, arguing that the Democratic candidate is attempting to present himself as more moderate than positions he previously supported.
Trump has also resorted to personal attacks, calling Talarico a “weirdo” and “freako” while questioning whether the Democrat’s current campaign accurately reflects his political views.
Those remarks are campaign rhetoric rather than independent assessments of Talarico.
Trump has argued that Texas turning Democratic would have major consequences for Republicans nationally, including making it substantially harder for the GOP to win future presidential elections.
He has also linked a potential Democratic victory in Texas to his opposition to efforts to make Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico states.
Paxton Hasn’t Escaped Trump’s Criticism
Trump’s endorsement of Paxton hasn’t stopped the president from taking occasional shots at his preferred candidate.
While discussing Paxton recently, Trump acknowledged that some voters may not like the attorney general’s appearance and joked about the way he dresses.
But Trump made his political preference in the race clear, continuing to back Paxton and praising his record as Texas attorney general.
The president also told reporters Friday that he was prepared to spend whatever he considers necessary to help Republican candidates in the midterm elections.
The new Texas advertising blitz shows that some of that money is now being deployed.
Talarico’s Fundraising Raises the Stakes
Money has already become one of the biggest stories surrounding the Texas Senate race.
Talarico has demonstrated considerable fundraising strength, creating pressure on Republicans and outside organizations to devote additional resources to supporting Paxton.
The amount of money flowing into the contest is not entirely new.
Even before the general election matchup was established, candidates and political organizations had poured more than $110 million into advertising and reserved airtime during the Texas Senate primary, according to figures from advertising-tracking firm AdImpact reported by The Associated Press.
That made it the most expensive Senate primary on record at the time.
Now the spending battle is moving into the general election.
MAGA Inc. Has Hundreds of Millions Available
The $10 million Texas purchase is especially notable because MAGA Inc. has accumulated an enormous campaign war chest.
The organization reported having approximately $403 million available at the end of July, giving Trump’s political operation considerable resources that could be deployed in congressional races before Election Day.
Until recently, however, the group had spent relatively little of that money on major general-election contests.
That prompted questions among some Republicans about when Trump’s organization would begin putting its financial resources behind candidates facing difficult races.
Texas now provides the clearest answer yet.
Why the Texas Senate Race Matters
Texas has long been an important part of the Republican electoral map, making the amount of national money and attention being devoted to the Paxton-Talarico contest particularly noteworthy.
For Republicans, holding the seat would help their effort to maintain Senate power.
For Democrats, making the race competitive would provide an opportunity to expand the number of states where the party can seriously contest Senate seats.
The political stakes also extend beyond the two candidates.
Trump personally backed Paxton against Cornyn in the Republican primary. That means Paxton’s general-election campaign has become closely connected to the president’s political operation.
Talarico, meanwhile, is attempting to turn his fundraising success into a broader challenge to Republican dominance in statewide Texas elections.
The Bottom Line
Trump’s political organization is no longer sitting on the sidelines in Texas.
The $10 million MAGA Inc. advertising campaign gives Paxton a substantial infusion of outside support while demonstrating that Trump is prepared to deploy some of his political operation’s enormous cash reserves ahead of the November midterms.
The ads will attempt to make taxes and affordability central issues while painting Talarico as too liberal for Texas. Talarico’s campaign is pushing back against that characterization and offering its own account of his tax proposals.
With significant money already flowing into the race and both parties watching Texas closely, the Paxton-Talarico contest is positioned to remain one of the most closely followed Senate battles heading into Election Day.