{
  "id": 6995511,
  "title": "Republicans Rally Behind Paxton in Texas With Millions in New Spending",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/republicans-rally-behind-paxton-in-texas-with-millions-in-new-spending",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-12T21:28:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Newsweek",
    "slug": "newsweek",
    "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-rally-behind-paxton-in-texas-with-millions-in-new-spending-12435877"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "As Election Day approaches, Republican organizations are flooding Texas with millions in campaign funding to support Attorney General Ken Paxton's bid for a U.S. Senate seat. According to AdImpact, Texas PAC, a Republican-aligned group linked to the Senate Leadership Fund, has invested over $51 million in advertising to back Paxton. The intense spending comes as the Texas Senate race has become one of the most closely watched in the nation, with Democratic candidate James Talarico performing well in polls against Paxton. Democrats are targeting the traditionally Republican state in their quest to reclaim control of the Senate, where they currently hold a 53-47 majority. To achieve this, Democrats must defend key seats in states that President Donald Trump won in the 2024 election and flip four others. While Texas has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1980, Democrats hope 2026 will present one of their best chances in recent years to challenge the GOP statewide. Trump carried Texas by 13.7 percentage points in 2024, with 56% of the vote compared to around 42.5% for then-Vice President Kamala Harris. However, Democrats have struggled in recent attempts to win statewide office in the state, such as Beto O'Rourke's 2018 Senate campaign against Ted Cruz. The race features Paxton, who is endorsed by Trump, and Talarico, who has served in the Texas House since 2018. Both candidates appear to be in a tight contest, with polls showing narrow leads for each side at different times. The matchup follows Paxton's victory over incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the Republican primary in late May. In response to the mounting Republican spending, Republicans gathered in Dallas for the party's midterm convention aimed at mobilizing their base ahead of the November election. The convention is part of a broader strategy to shore up support for Paxton in the final weeks of the campaign. Texas PAC has reserved roughly $51.3 million in television advertising in key Texas media markets, while other Republican-aligned groups have also entered the race. MAGA Inc., a Trump-aligned PAC, has reserved about $10 million for advertising, and Elon Musk-backed America PAC has spent over $2.6 million supporting Paxton and opposing Talarico. Since the Republican primary, GOP-aligned groups have spent more than $81 million backing Paxton, according to AdImpact. Democratic groups and campaigns have reserved about $43.7 million, primarily from Talarico's campaign. The Senate Leadership Fund, which did not include Texas among its targeted Senate races in April, emphasized its commitment to maintaining the Republican majority in its recent ad buy. As the campaign enters its final stretch, both candidates continue to receive strong backing from their respective Republican and Democratic-aligned groups, with the Senate Leadership Fund and other Republican organizations pledging additional support.",
  "summary": "A Republican-aligned group known as Texas PAC has purchased more than $51 million in advertising supporting Paxton.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}