Full Breakdown
Elon Musk’s Growing Financial Backing of the Texas Senate Contest
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is facing Democrat James Talarico in a tightly watched Texas Senate race. After a modest early fundraising gap—Talarico reported roughly $21 million cash on hand versus Paxton’s $1.7 million at the end of June—new money from billionaire-backed groups, including Elon Musk’s America PAC, is shifting the balance toward the incumbent. America PAC has already spent nearly $5.2 million on Texas outreach and expects the figure to rise sharply, while allied super-PACs such as MAGA Inc. have booked $10 million in TV ad time for Paxton.
Background & Context
Musk’s prior foray into electoral politics was the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race, where he distributed $1 million checks and contributed at least $20 million overall. The effort ended with a 10-point loss for the conservative candidate, a result described as a rebuke of both Musk and the Trump administration. Republicans in Texas are now urging Musk to adopt a lower-profile approach, hoping to avoid the “public spending” narrative that critics say hurt the Wisconsin outcome.
Funding Landscape
- America PAC: $5.2 million spent in Texas to date; total $14.7 million on congressional races nationwide, with the Texas Senate contest receiving the most of that allocation.
- MAGA Inc.: $10 million booked for Texas TV ads, second-largest single-state investment after the group’s national spending.
- Lone Star Liberty PAC: $15 million on TV ads targeting Talarico’s record on China.
- Republican national groups (Senate Leadership Fund, NRSC) have increased contributions after Trump’s endorsement helped Paxton defeat Sen. John Cornyn in the primary.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Elon, bring it. You’ve failed in Wisconsin. You’ll fail in Texas,” — Nathan Johnson, Democrat running for Texas attorney general.
- “The fact is Ken Paxton had $100 million spent against him in the primary,” — James Blair, chief of MAGA Inc.
- “Billionaire-backed dark money groups are lying about James because they’re scared of the people-powered movement we’re building to fix this broken, corrupt political system.” — JT Ennis, spokesman.