Trump’s MAGA Inc. drops $10M on ad blitz in Texas senate race
US President Donald Trump's first major midterm intervention signals growing Republican concern in Texas
The political action committee associated with Donald Trump, MAGA Inc., has announced a major $10 million ad buy targeting the high-stakes U.S. Senate race in Texas.
The Saturday filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) represents the first major spend in a general election by MAGA, Inc, a super PAC named for Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.
This marks Trump's first major financial intervention of the midterm general election cycle, highlighting how competitive a historically safe Republican seat has become.
The advertisements are expected to heavily target Democratic candidate James Talarico, a 37-year-old state representative running for the US Senate against Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
As reported by Al Jazeera, the $10 million tranche is split evenly—half dedicated to positive television, streaming, and digital ads boosting Republican nominee Ken Paxton, and the other half focused on negative messaging against Democratic challenger James Talarico.
The ads zero in heavily on tax and economic policy, attacking Talarico over tax proposals while framing Paxton as a defender of tax breaks for working families and first-time homebuyers.
Speculation abounds that Democrats may have a chance of flipping one of Texas’s Senate seats for the first time since 1993.
Paxton has weathered a series of scandals, even facing a state impeachment trial. Still, Democrats have repeatedly faced withering defeats in Texas, having failed to win a statewide office there in more than three decades.
In a statement on Saturday, MAGA, Inc sought to portray Talarico as out of touch with everyday Texans.
“High Tax Talarico wants to take money out of Texans’ pockets,” spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer said. “MAGA Inc is going to ensure Texas knows about Talarico’s radical policies and elects Ken Paxton to the US Senate.”
The intervention comes after weeks of mounting pressure from Republicans urging Trump to deploy his massive campaign war chest. Polls have shown Talarico running competitively, and Democrats eyeing the seat as a major expansion opportunity on the map.
Republicans currently hold slim majorities in both chambers of Congress. But Democrats are hoping to flip a few key seats to break the Republicans’ hold on the legislature.
