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● InformationalElections / Campaigns

Senate GOP smashing political spending records in Texas with ad-buying binge for Ken Paxton

Republican-aligned groups directed most of their Texas Senate race ad spending toward supporting Paxton.

Senate GOP smashing political spending records in Texas with ad-buying binge for Ken Paxton
Image · KPRC

SOURCE CHECK

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Host credibilityKPRC81/100 HIGH
This article1 analysis · Oct 3, 2026

Credibility rates KPRC, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.

Republished with credit

Republished from Texas Tribune, with credit to the original publisher.

Texas Tribune79/100 HIGH

49 stories · 78–81 · updated Oct 6, 2026

This is Texas Tribune's own score, and this article is credited to Texas Tribune. The host score in the Source Check is KPRC's.

KPRCvia Texas Tribune
Oct 1, 2026
tl;dr

Republican-aligned groups spent $122 million on Texas Senate race ads in September and reserved another $66 million through Election Day, most of it backing Ken Paxton. Despite the spending surge, public polls showed James Talarico narrowly ahead.

Community verdict

VOTING CLOSED
How does this story look for
Ken Paxton R · TX
NOT RATEDCLOSED

No good or bad look here

This story reports what happened without casting Paxton in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward Paxton’s record.

● INFORMATIONAL

People in this story

SWIPE →
Ken Paxton
R · TX

Republican candidate in the Texas U.S. Senate race

PRIMARY SUBJECT

Democratic candidate in the Texas U.S. Senate race

Talarico's version of this story ↗
Donald Trump
R · President of the United States

President; his super PAC spent money in the race

John Thune
R · SD · SEN

Senate Majority Leader connected to Texas PAC

Ted Cruz
R · TX · SEN

Texas senator mentioned in comparison with the 2024 Senate race

John Cornyn
R · TX · SEN

Texas senator who lost the Republican primary to Paxton

ALSO MENTIONED  Collin Allred, Democratic candidate in the 2024 Texas Senate race

Part of a bigger story

5 OUTLETS
Republican Spending for Ken Paxton Averaged About $7.7 Million Per Day

A Republican super PAC spent $131 million over 17 days supporting Ken Paxton’s Texas Senate campaign, about $7.7 million per day. Left-leaning outlets focus on a television host’s rebuke of Paxton after a report that he criticized Trump. Center outlets and right-leaning outlets both foreground pro-Paxton campaign spending; center outlets also examine ad allocation, while right-leaning outlets add Paxton’s announced $20 million ad buy amid a close race.

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