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Texas Senate Race Becomes Costliest After $500 Million Ads

By Drooid · Oct 22, 2026, 2:30 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Early voting began in Texas for the Senate race between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton.
Advertising purchases have exceeded $500 million, making it the costliest Senate race.
Real Clear Politics averages from Sept 24-Oct 14 show Talarico leading Paxton by 2.2 percentage points.
Talarico raised $64 million in Q3 2026, far outpacing Paxton’s $18 million.
A Musk-funded political action committee spent $181 million on the race, becoming the largest single donor.

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Story summary

Early voting began in Texas for the Senate race between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton.
Advertising purchases have exceeded $500 million, making it the costliest Senate race.
Real Clear Politics averages from Sept 24-Oct 14 show Talarico leading Paxton by 2.2 percentage points.
Talarico raised $64 million in Q3 2026, far outpacing Paxton’s $18 million.
A Musk-funded political action committee spent $181 million on the race, becoming the largest single donor.