James Talarico Has Raised More Than $158 Million for His Senate Bid, About Four Times Ken Paxton's Total
The Austin Democrat's haul includes a record $64 million third quarter and would rank second all time, according to the latest federal filings reported by The Texan — and he enters the final week with about $12 million on hand to Paxton's committees' $6 million.
State Rep. James Talarico of Austin has raised more than $158 million for his U.S. Senate campaign, about four times Attorney General Ken Paxton's nearly $39 million, according to the latest federal filings, The Texan reported Monday in an account carried by Lubbock Lights' Tuesday Ledger. Talarico's total includes a record $64 million in the third quarter alone.
The scale would rank second all time, behind Sen. Raphael Warnock's 2022 campaign, per the report. Cash on hand entering the final week is closer than the topline: Talarico holds about $12 million, while Paxton's committees hold about $6 million.
Outside money surrounds both campaigns. Republican super PACs, underwritten largely by Elon Musk, have poured in outside spending, the report notes — with the caveat it also carries: candidates buy advertising time at discounted rates that outside groups do not get, so a dollar raised by a campaign stretches further on television.
The money has not separated the candidates in the polls the report cites. Talarico holds a 1.5-point lead in the RealClearPolitics average, and forecasters rate the November 3 race a toss-up — a week of voting, with early voting ending Friday, October 30, will decide whether the largest Senate fundraising haul in Texas history converts into the state's first Democratic Senate win in decades, a milestone Democrats have chased since their last statewide victory in 1994.
