Democrat James Talarico has made Elon Musk’s spending the centrepiece of his closing argument in the Texas Senate race, saying Musk is trying to buy the seat for Republican Ken Paxton and is almost single-handedly funding him.
Campaign-finance reporting cited by Reuters says Musk gave 158 million dollars to the Senate Leadership Fund, which transferred matching amounts to Texas PAC, a super PAC supporting Paxton. Talarico raised 64 million dollars in the third quarter of 2026, described by the Texas Tribune as the largest third-quarter haul on record for a US Senate candidate in any state, and 134 million dollars or more in total, with his campaign saying 97 percent of third-quarter donations were under 100 dollars. Paxton raised 18 million dollars in the same quarter.
Total ad spending in the race has surpassed 500 million dollars, on course to be the most expensive Senate race in US history, according to Reuters. On 28 October, Kalshi put Talarico at 66 percent versus Paxton at 34 percent, and Univision/YouGov on 27 October put Talarico ahead 50 to 45. Trump rallied for Paxton in Lubbock on 25 October, and Talarico rallied about three miles away on 26 October. Election Day is 3 November, and the seat could help decide Senate control.
Why the story travels is the showdown it represents. The world’s richest man pouring nine figures into one Senate race, and the grassroots candidate still leading in markets and polls, with a ready-made slogan, “Texas is not for sale,” and a direct Musk-Talarico feud on X.
Care is needed with figures. Kalshi breaks the 158 million dollars down as 75 million dollars via America PAC plus 83 million dollars via Senate Leadership Fund, while Reuters describes 158 million dollars to the Senate Leadership Fund alone, so present the total as at least 158 million dollars reported, and do not assert one breakdown as settled. A Talarico campaign ad claim of 189.6 million dollars is a campaign-ad claim, not a filing-confirmed total. Musk’s 5 million dollars to Governor Greg Abbott is a separate Texas race, and should not be added to the Paxton total.
No Democrat has won statewide in Texas since 1994, which makes Talarico’s lead, if it holds, a historic result in its own right.
Sources: Kalshi, 28 Oct 2026, 15:57 EDT; Reuters-based reporting, Oct 2026; Texas Tribune, Q3 2026.
