Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. puts $10 million behind Paxton in Texas Senate race

MAGA Inc., the main super PAC aligned with President Donald Trump, has disclosed a $10 million advertising buy in the Texas Senate race, marking the first major fall midterm deployment of Trump’s political operation in a competitive general-election contest.¹

The expenditure was reported Saturday, September 5, 2026, in a Federal Election Commission Form 24 filing by MAGA Inc., committee C00892471.² The spending is structured as independent expenditures, not a campaign contribution. The filing reports $5 million for positive advertising supporting Republican nominee Ken Paxton and $5 million for negative advertising opposing Democrat James Talarico.³

The buy moves Trump’s apparatus beyond endorsement politics and into a large-scale paid intervention in a race Republicans increasingly view as central to protecting their Senate majority. Paxton, the Texas attorney general, won the GOP nomination after Trump backed him over Sen. John Cornyn. He now faces Talarico, a Democratic state representative whose fundraising and advertising have intensified Republican concern about a seat long considered safely Republican.⁴

Ads focus on taxes

The ads identified by MAGA Inc. and reported by outlets covering the buy center on tax policy. The pro-Paxton message promotes Paxton’s economic pitch, including tax breaks tied to health care and housing expenses. The anti-Talarico message seeks to portray the Democrat as favoring higher taxes.³

The Associated Press reported that the ads frame taxes as the dominant issue, arguing that Paxton would deliver tax breaks for first-time homebuyers and families with children while casting Talarico as broadly supportive of tax increases.⁴ MAGA Inc. also shared the spots online after filing the expenditure report, according to The Washington Post.⁵

Talarico’s campaign disputed the attack. A campaign spokesperson said the ads misrepresent Talarico’s record and pointed to his votes for tax cuts for working Texans.⁴

Why Texas drew the first major buy

The Texas race has become an early test of how Trump’s campaign resources will be used to defend Republican control of Congress. Republicans had been pressing Trump-aligned groups to spend in Texas as Talarico built a financial and advertising advantage over Paxton during the summer.¹

The Texas Tribune reported that the buy is MAGA Inc.’s first general-election expenditure and that it will run on connected television and digital platforms. On those platforms, campaigns and super PACs buy ads on more equal terms than they do on broadcast television.³ That distinction matters in Texas, one of the nation’s most expensive states for statewide advertising because of its many media markets.³

Axios reported that MAGA Inc. has a roughly $400 million war chest, making the Texas buy a first visible sign of whether Trump’s political network will use its resources to shore up vulnerable Republican candidates in expensive battlegrounds.⁶ FEC committee data also show MAGA Inc. with more than $400 million in receipts for the 2026 cycle through July 31, underscoring the scale of resources available to the group.²

Outside spending accelerates

MAGA Inc. is not the only outside group active in the race. The Texas Tribune reported that Elon Musk’s America PAC has spent about $1.4 million against Talarico. Paxton has also benefited from spending by Lone Star Liberty PAC, Preserve Texas Inc. and other Republican-aligned outside entities.³

At the same time, Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with Senate Republican leadership, had reserved advertising in other competitive Senate races but had not put money into Texas as of the MAGA Inc. announcement. That added to pressure on Trump’s allies to intervene.³

Reuters described the September 5 filing as MAGA Inc.’s first fall campaign filing ahead of the November midterm elections, with the spending divided evenly between anti-Talarico and pro-Paxton ads.⁷ The timing makes Texas an early benchmark for whether Trump’s outside operation can turn a large cash reserve into effective midterm support for Republican candidates.

For Republicans, the stakes are both strategic and symbolic. Holding Texas would help protect the Senate majority, while a seriously competitive race there would signal a broader and more expensive map. For Democrats, Talarico’s competitiveness offers a chance to force Republicans to spend heavily in a state they have dominated statewide for decades.⁴

Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. puts $10 million behind Paxton in Texas Senate race

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Ads focus on taxes

Why Texas drew the first major buy

Outside spending accelerates

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