James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, has raised far more campaign money than Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee and Texas attorney general, in the race for the United States Senate. Outside spending in the general election points the other way, with far more independent money aligned with Paxton. Those two facts describe different kinds of money, and they do not combine into a single score.
Money raised by a campaign is money received by that campaign committee. Money spent by a campaign is money paid out by that committee. Outside spending is money spent independently by groups that are not the campaigns, to support or oppose a candidate. It is not a contribution to the candidate, and it is not controlled by the candidate.
Campaign cash
Talarico raised more than $146 million through October 14, according to Federal Election Commission reports cited by USA Today. Paxton raised $22 million over the same period, including money raised for the Republican primary, when he defeated four-term Senator John Cornyn. The FEC candidate page for Paxton gives $22,327,473.92 in total receipts from April 1, 2025 through October 14, 2026. That total includes $21,452,104.85 in contributions and $853,632.50 in transfers from other authorized committees.
In the third quarter alone, July 1 through September 30, 2026, Talarico reported $60.2 million in receipts and Paxton reported $10.2 million, according to their October quarterly campaign finance reports. Paxton's cycle total therefore includes primary fundraising, so it is not a clean measure of general-election fundraising alone. The candidate figures also stop on October 14, six days before the outside-spending figures below.
Outside spending
Outside groups must act independently of the campaigns. A super PAC, formally an independent-expenditure-only committee, may accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor unions, and other political committees, but it may not contribute to a federal candidate or coordinate its spending with a campaign, according to FEC guidance on registering a super PAC. That unlimited rule does not apply to every outside group. Traditional political committees operate under contribution limits, as set out in FEC guidance on types of nonconnected PACs.
Through October 20, in the general election, USA Today reported the following outside spending from OpenSecrets:
- $153 million opposing Talarico
- $13 million supporting Talarico
- $91 million supporting Paxton
- $41 million opposing Paxton
Grouped by alignment, $244 million was spent to support Paxton or oppose Talarico, against $54 million to support Talarico or oppose Paxton. That is a $190 million gap in outside spending, and $244 million is 82 percent of the $298 million total across those four categories. That percentage describes only those four outside-spending categories. It is not a share of all campaign spending, and it does not establish a combined spending advantage, because campaign fundraising and outside spending measure different things over different periods.
OpenSecrets' own general-election summary confirms part of that picture: Paxton had $91.1 million in positive general-election outside spending, the most for any general-election candidate, and Talarico was one of two Democrats to draw more than $115 million in opposition spending, according to OpenSecrets' chart of general-election outside spending. Across the general election, outside groups had spent $1.3 billion on the midterms as of October 20, according to the same OpenSecrets summary. That $1.3 billion figure is general-election outside spending, not total outside spending for the whole election cycle.
What the money does and does not show
| Measure and period | Talarico side | Paxton side |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign receipts, through October 14, 2026 | More than $146 million, Talarico campaign | $22.3 million in total receipts, Paxton committees, including primary fundraising |
| Campaign receipts, July 1 through September 30, 2026 | $60.2 million | $10.2 million |
| General-election outside spending, through October 20, 2026 | $54 million aligned: $13 million supporting Talarico, $41 million opposing Paxton | $244 million aligned: $91 million supporting Paxton, $153 million opposing Talarico |
| Share of the four outside-spending categories above | 18 percent | 82 percent |
Do not add the rows in this table into a single total for either side. The first two rows measure money received by campaigns. The third row measures money spent independently by outside groups. The periods also differ: campaign receipts stop on October 14, outside spending runs through October 20, and both totals will change as later reports cover the final week of the campaign.
Spending does not decide an election on its own. It buys reach, especially in a state as large and expensive to advertise in as Texas. Whether that reach changes votes is the question voters will answer on November 3.
When Texans vote
Early voting for the November 3 general election runs October 19 through October 30, according to the Texas Secretary of State. During early voting, Texans may cast a ballot at any early voting polling location in their county of registration.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. Voters can check registration status, early voting locations, and acceptable photo identification at VoteTexas.gov.
