Paxton gets $54M boost from Senate Leadership Fund’s Texas PAC

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) Senate campaign received nearly $54 million from the GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund’s (SLF) Texas affiliate, according to a filing.

The Austin-based Texas PAC donated more than $53.8 million to Paxton’s campaign, based on filings to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The committee is affiliated with the SLF, which is tied to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.).

Texas PAC also purchased more than $51 million worth of ad reservations on Friday, per media tracking firm AdImpact . The ads will air in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin media markets, the Texas Tribune reported Friday .

Paxton’s campaign was at a significant financial disadvantage earlier this summer to that of his opponent, state Rep. James Talarico (D). As of the end of June, Talarico’s campaign had more than $21.5 million on hand to less than $1.8 million for Paxton, according to FEC data.

But outside GOP groups have sought to close the gap. The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which attacked Paxton for alleged infidelity during his primary race against Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), set up a joint fundraising committee with the Texas attorney general’s campaign in June.

Then earlier this month, President Trump’s MAGA Inc. Super PAC paid $10 million to Del Ray Media, which released two attack ads against Talarico.

The Hill has reached out to spokespeople for the Paxton and Talarico campaigns for comment on the SLF’s spending in the race.

Talarico is trying to be the first Democrat to win a Senate race in Texas since former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen in 1988. The 37-year-old has campaigned on raising taxes on billionaires and corporations, while going after Paxton for his estranged wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton (R), accusing him of infidelity and the Texas House impeaching him in 2023.

Paxton, meanwhile, has argued Talarico’s views are out of step with the majority of those in the Lone Star State. The state attorney general has specifically gone after Talarico’s views on culture war issues, such as his support for transgender children .

As of Sunday, Decision Desk HQ gave Talarico a 55 percent chance of winning the race. The Democratic nominee also led Paxton 48 percent to 44 percent in a recent AARP survey of likely Texas voters.

Talarico’s lead over Paxton in that poll was outside the margin of error of 3.3 percentage points, while 8 percent of respondents were undecided.