James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton by more than 12 points to become the state’s first Democratic senator since 1988, while Gina Hinojosa ousted Republican Governor Greg Abbott. The historic Senate race saw total advertising expenditures exceed $573 million between the campaigns and affiliated political action committees. Rather than relying on megadonors, Talarico raised $146 million directly from voters while framing the contest as a fight against the ultrarich. Musk-funded groups ran dozens of anti-transgender ads, but the tech billionaire ultimately avoided appearing alongside Paxton at public rallies.
Key points
Direct fundraising from voters allowed Talarico to raise $146 million and counter massive…: Direct fundraising from voters allowed Talarico to raise $146 million and counter massive outside expenditures by conservative megadonors.
Midterm voters rejected the conservative culture-war messaging that heavily populated Mus…: Midterm voters rejected the conservative culture-war messaging that heavily populated Musk-funded advertisements across Texas.
Simultaneous victories by Talarico and gubernatorial challenger Gina Hinojosa flipped bot…: Simultaneous victories by Talarico and gubernatorial challenger Gina Hinojosa flipped both of the state's top executive and legislative seats.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
James Talarico, the Democratic Texas senator-elect, not only managed to flip the state in yesterday’s midterms but prevailed in the most expensive Senate election to date. More than $573 million was spent on advertisements between Talarico, his Republican opponent Ken Paxton, and their aligned PACs. And a big chunk of that money came from just one man: Elon Musk.
Not even $200 million could help Elon Musk buy Texas
Elon Musk’s wall of money fell to the blue tsunami.
Elon Musk’s wall of money fell to the blue tsunami.
Musk reportedly spent more than $445 million supporting Republicans in the midterms, making him not only by far the biggest donor in the 2026 election cycle but also in American history. And most of his money was spent in Texas, his home state and the headquarters of both Tesla and SpaceX. Musk funneled more than $168 million to super PACs that supported Paxton; Musk’s own America PAC, to which he funneled $216 million, also spent $34.7 million of those funds in Texas. All told, that’s more than $200 million spent on…
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