Musk endorses Paxton in Texas Senate race

Tech mogul Elon Musk has formally endorsed Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race after bankrolling his campaign for several weeks.

The tech billionaire and one-time trillionaire has spent more than $150 million on Paxton’s candidacy as the lone donor to Texas PAC, a political action committee supporting Paxton. In a post to the social platform X — which Musk owns — Tuesday, Musk encouraged Texans to get out and support the Texas Attorney General.

“The fate of Texas and America is at stake. Vote for @KenPaxtonTX today,” Musk wrote.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors in 2024, spending at least $250 million to help send him back to the White House. Despite a falling out with the president in the spring of 2025, Musk is back in the political mix and bankrolling Republicans in the midterms. Musk is also a Texas resident, having moved from California to Austin in 2020. Both Tesla and SpaceX are headquartered in Texas.

Paxton finds himself in a tight race with state Rep. James Talarico (D) in a matchup that is key to which party will control the Senate.

While Texas is a traditionally Republican state, one which President Trump won by 14 points in 2024, the GOP is increasingly concerned about the possibility of losing a Senate race in the Lone Star State for the first time since 1988. Preventing that from happening comes with a big price tag.

The two parties have spent more than $500 million on ads in the Texas Senate race, with more than $350 million coming from Republicans, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact.

But while Musk’s money may help Paxton get on the air, outside spending receives less favorable ad rates on TV than spending from campaigns, as required by federal law. So while Republicans account for 74 percent of ad spending in Texas, according to AdImpact , the party accounts for just 58 percent of actual broadcast airings as of Monday.

Talarico has raised record amounts as a candidate, with a $64 million third quarter haul — the most any Senate candidate has raised in that period in recorded history. That figure far outpaces what Paxton’s campaign has raised.

The barrage of GOP money into Texas has done little to move the polls. Nonpartisan election forecaster Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), a partner of The Hill, showed Talarico leading Paxton by 3.3 points at the end of August in its polling average. As of Tuesday, Talarico still leads Paxton by 2.2 points after hundreds of millions in Republican ad spending.