James Talarico has raised the most in this race — $146,349,912, ahead of Ken Paxton at $22,327,474. James Talarico has taken the most PAC and party-committee money: $530,806. On AIPAC: Ken Paxton has an AIPAC-linked record (amount still under verification).
No current officeholder is running — the seat will have a new winner. Forecasters say it’s too close to call — one of the most competitive races of the year. Ken Paxton, a Republican, shows a record of donations linked to AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, but the exact amount is still being confirmed.
Major issues facing Texas, based on 2025–2026 reporting. Compare them with what each candidate says they focus on below.
FEC campaign finance data through Oct 14, 2026. Campaign dollars, by source.
| Ken Paxton R | James Talarico D | |
|---|---|---|
| Raised | $22.3M | $146.3M |
| Individuals | $21M94% | $139.8M96% |
| PACs & parties | $454K2% | $531K0% |
| Self-funded | $0 | $0 |
| Other | $875K4% | $6M4% |
| AIPAC-linked* | — | — |
| Outside spending† | — | — |
* AIPAC-linked money is already counted in the rows above — it flags the pro-Israel share, not extra money.
† Independent spending on ads for or against a candidate. It never goes to their campaign.
“Individuals” covers both small-dollar (under $200) and large donors.
Every donor ranked by how much they gave, from the candidate’s own FEC filings — individuals, PACs, and party committees all in one list. Expand a candidate to see theirs, then tap any name to learn more about the donor.
Why are so many gifts exactly $10,000? That’s the legal maximum a PAC can give one candidate for the whole cycle — $5,000 for the primary plus $5,000 for the general — so many PACs give the max. Individuals can give up to $3,500 per election.
Showing the 50 biggest of 5099 donors. The other 5049 gave $6.6M combined.
Plus $1.9M from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.
Showing the 50 biggest of 50898 donors. The other 50848 gave $28.5M combined.
Plus $36.7M from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.
These figures come from the candidate’s own itemized FEC reports (2026 cycle, through the coverage date above), with amendments applied and refunds netted. Joint fundraising transfers are left out of the ranking: they’re pass-throughs, and the individual donations behind them are listed above. Bank interest, vendor refunds, and other non-donation receipts are excluded. Donor names are as reported — the same person can appear twice if their name was recorded differently. Independent spending on ads is never included here — see the Outside spending column.
James Talarico has raised more: $146,349,912, ahead of Ken Paxton at $22,327,474.
James Talarico has taken the most money from PACs and party committees: $530,806. Ken Paxton has taken $454,150.
Ken Paxton has an AIPAC-linked record in FEC filings; the dollar amount is still under verification.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
October 29, 2026
A super PAC formed in September spent $380,000 against Ken Paxton — and nobody knows who paid for it
Real American Values PAC registered with the FEC on September 3, 2026, and on October 27 spent $380,226 on direct mail opposing Ken Paxton in Texas's Senate race, per its FEC independent-expenditure report. Its campaign-finance reports through October 14 show just $175 in total receipts, so whoever funded the mail arrived after that date and stays hidden until the post-general report due December 3 — after Election Day. Its treasurer, Keith Konnerth, runs two other super PACs from the same Claymont, Delaware mail-drop address — one that spent $588,000 in Alaska races and one spending in New Hampshire's Senate race — a shared-paperwork pattern that does not by itself prove common funders.
Source: FEC filings (committee C00960757) →October 24, 2026
Democratic-aligned 'Stronger Nation' spends $550,003 across eight Senate races in the final stretch
Stronger Nation (C00898999), a Los Angeles-based hybrid PAC registered in March 2025, reported $550,003 in independent expenditures across eight Senate races, all disseminated October 22 via Democratic digital firm Rising Tide Interactive: supporting James Talarico and opposing Ken Paxton in Texas ($216,868), and backing Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Annie Andrews in South Carolina, Josh Turek in Iowa, Adam Hamilton in Kansas, Dan Osborn in Nebraska, and Troy Jackson in Maine. The PAC had reported no contributions at all through October 14, so the money behind the ads is undisclosed until its post-general report, due December 3; its only disclosed funder ever is the Chicago 501(c)(4) Rapid Resist Action ($130,000 in 2025).
Source: FEC committee filings (C00898999) →October 24, 2026
Elon Musk passes $442 million in midterm giving, adding $76.8M to America PAC in October
New FEC filings show Elon Musk contributed another $76.8 million to his America PAC over roughly one week in October, taking his total 2026 midterm giving past $442 million — the largest individual total in U.S. history, per The Hill's tally. The total includes $158 million given in September to the Senate Leadership Fund, which passed it through to a Texas super PAC backing Ken Paxton, plus $20 million to a House GOP super PAC. Democrat James Talarico accused Musk of trying to buy a Senate seat in Texas.
Source: Newsmax (AP, citing The Hill) →October 22, 2026
Pro-Paxton super PAC's $199K came from one Montana LLC; October $210K buy's funding stays hidden
Constitutional Vanguard's filed quarterly names its sole Q3 donor: VanHornLTD LLC of Kalispell, Montana ($199,100 on Sep 22). The new super PAC's $210,000 pro-Ken Paxton (TX-Sen) buy was funded in October, which won't be disclosed until the post-general report due Dec 3. It stays on the donor watchlist.
Source: FEC (filed report) →October 21, 2026
New pro-Paxton super PAC doubles down in TX-Sen — donors hidden
Constitutional Vanguard Super PAC (C00960930), registered Sept 5, 2026, reported a new $210,000 media-production buy supporting Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race (disseminated Oct 19, filed Oct 20), bringing its cycle total to $409,100 — all pro-Paxton, via vendor Provident Strategies Inc. Its October Quarterly (filed Oct 16) shows $199,100 raised and fully spent, but no itemized donor is currently visible in FEC data, and the new $210,000 buy's funding falls in the Post-General window, so it won't be disclosed until December.
Source: FEC (committee filings) →October 21, 2026
Established GOP super PAC Red Senate adds $150K across four Senate races
Red Senate (C00747121), a Republican super PAC active since 2020, added about $150,000 in new independent expenditures: in TX-Sen ($172,890 for Ken Paxton / $53,388 against James Talarico), MI-Sen ($94,409 for Mike Rogers / $80,188 against Abdul El-Sayed), ME-Sen ($13,163 for Susan Collins / $17,325 against Troy Jackson), plus $5,000 against Annie Andrews (SC-Sen). Recent buys ran through Disney Advertising and If It Is LLC (filed Oct 20). Its donors are disclosed (led by At-Bay Insurance and GOP law firms Holtzman Vogel and Jassy Vick Carolan).
Source: FEC (committee filings) →October 16, 2026
Elon Musk gave $158M to groups supporting Paxton in close TX Senate race
FEC filings show Elon Musk gave the Senate Leadership Fund $75M on Sept. 9 and $83M on Sept. 23 ($158M total); SLF transferred identical amounts to Texas PAC, the pro-Paxton super PAC, the day after each gift. Musk also gave $10M to Lone Star Liberty PAC for Paxton after an SLF request, per USA Today.
Source: USA Today →October 16, 2026
Talarico raises record $64M in Texas Senate race against Paxton
Democrat James Talarico raised $64 million in Q3 2026, the largest single-quarter haul by any Senate candidate in history, vs. $18M for Republican Ken Paxton. His campaign says 97% of donations were $100 or less, with 1.3M+ individual donors; total TX-Sen spending is now near $500M, per the El Paso Times.
Source: El Paso Times →October 12, 2026
GOP triage: Senate Leadership Fund pulls out of North Carolina, pours $10M+ into Kansas and $5M into South Carolina
With three weeks to Election Day, the Senate Leadership Fund has suspended its North Carolina ad reservations and redirected at least $10 million into Kansas, where Roger Marshall faces an unexpectedly competitive challenge, plus $5 million to boost Darline Graham in South Carolina. The group has spent more than $100 million in Texas backing Ken Paxton, while the pro-Trump MAGA Inc. super PAC fuels a major GOP cash advantage and American Bridge has put $20M+ into South Carolina, Kansas, Florida, and Mississippi for Democrats.
Source: CNN →October 09, 2026
Senate GOP super PAC adds $30 million for Paxton in Texas Senate race
Texas PAC, the Senate Republican leadership-backed super PAC supporting Ken Paxton, placed another $30 million in TV reservations in Texas, pushing its television spending there to about $155 million and overall outlays toward $200 million. The rescue mission comes as Democrat James Talarico leads most public polls and the Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up. Texas has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1993.
Source: Political Wire (citing Punchbowl News) →