Elon Musk contributed $158 million in September 2026 to the super PAC Senate Leadership Fund, which directed the money to Texas PAC to support Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton's U.S. Senate campaign against Democrat James Talarico. The funding surge boosted GOP ad spending past $160 million, even as Talarico raised a record-breaking $64 million in the third quarter. Polling shows a tight race as Paxton faces lingering fallout from past impeachment and fraud charges.
Elon Musk's donations to Ken Paxton
- ▪Elon Musk contributed $158 million in September 2026 to Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC supporting Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's Senate campaign against Democrat James Talarico
- ▪Elon Musk donated $75 million to Senate Leadership Fund on September 9, 2026, which transferred $75 million to Texas PAC on September 10, 2026
Political advertisement spending
- ▪Texas PAC is scheduled to spend nearly $160 million on political advertisements supporting Ken Paxton through Election Day
- ▪Texas PAC, funded by Elon Musk, spent over $77 million on television political advertisements supporting Ken Paxton in September 2026 alone
- ▪Total advertisement spending in the Texas Senate contest between Ken Paxton and James Talarico surpassed $500 million by mid-October 2026
Third-quarter campaign fundraising
- ▪Democrat James Talarico raised $64 million in the third quarter of 2026 for his Texas Senate campaign against Republican Ken Paxton
- ▪James Talarico's $64 million third-quarter 2026 fundraising figure broke the single-quarter fundraising record for a U.S. Senate candidate, bringing his total raised since September 2025 to over $134.3 million
- ▪Republican Ken Paxton raised $18 million in the third quarter of 2026 through his campaign and affiliated committees
Polling in the Texas Senate race
- ▪An August 2026 University of Texas and Texas Politics Project poll showed a decline in support and favorability for Republican Ken Paxton relative to Democrat James Talarico
- ▪A New York Times/Siena survey found that 38 percent of likely Texas voters believed Republican Ken Paxton has good character, compared to 56 percent for Democrat James Talarico
- ▪Real Clear Politics polling averages in October 2026 showed Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico tied in the Texas Senate race
Ken Paxton's legal and personal controversies
- ▪Texas State Senator Angela Paxton filed for divorce from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2025 citing biblical grounds, including adultery
- ▪Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015, concluding with a pretrial agreement after nearly a decade
- ▪The Republican-led Texas House impeached Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2023 over allegations of bribery and public trust abuse involving donor Nate Paul before the state Senate acquitted him
Musk's business presence in Texas
- ▪SpaceX maintains a rocket testing facility, a spaceport for its Starship, and a Starlink manufacturing plant in Texas
- ▪Elon Musk relocated the corporate headquarters of X and SpaceX to Texas in 2024 and maintains central operations for SpaceX, Tesla, and X in the state
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