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MAGA, Inc., the super PAC connected to President Donald Trump, has made its first major midterm buy: $10 million in ad spending to support Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his Senate race, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Paxton and Democrat state Rep. James Talarico are locked in a tight race where polls continually show the two candidates neck and neck.
The $10 million will go toward digital and TV ads across the state.
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Texas state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat, and Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, are in a tight race for the U.S. Senate. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images; Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
Trump’s endorsement earlier this year already helped Paxton beat out incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary.
“While James Talarico has a record of raising taxes on working families, my Protecting the Texas Promise Agenda cuts costs and makes life more affordable. Thank you, President @realDonaldTrump, for your support,” Paxton wrote on X on Saturday while sharing a post about the ad buy. “Together we will win for Texas and America.”
The decision comes after weeks of speculation over whether the super PAC would put money into the hotly contested race.
Talarico’s campaign also responded to the move, telling Digital: “Billionaire-backed dark money groups are lying about James Talarico because they’re scared of the people-powered movement we’re building to fix this broken, corrupt political system.”
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton campaigns with President Donald Trump. (Getty Images, File)
Talarico, who has called for higher taxes on the wealthy, called out billionaires heading to the Republican midterm convention starting on Wednesday.
“Next week, billionaire mega-donors and their puppet politicians will gather at a convention in Dallas to clink champagne glasses and toast their own corruption,” he said. “They’re paying $20,000 for entry to a Billionaire Ball celebrating corrupt tariffs, billionaire tax breaks, and a new forever war that are all driving grocery costs through the roof. We’ll be doing something different. We’re bringing Republicans, Democrats, and Independents together to collect groceries for our neighbors who have been screwed over by corrupt politicians.”
Calling him “High Tax Talarico,” MAGA Inc. spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer told Digital the Democrat “wants to take money out of Texans’ pockets. MAGA Inc. is going to ensure Texas knows about Talarico’s radical policies and elects Ken Paxton to the U.S. Senate.”
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President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Talarico’s campaign has raised $72 million since the campaign began, mostly from small donors, compared to $16.8 million by Paxton’s campaign, according to the Texas Tribune.
The two anti-Talarico ads slam his policies on taxes and rural hospitals while touting Paxton’s support for doubling the child tax credit, allowing tax breaks for medical expenses and a $50,000 deduction for first-time homebuyers.
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MAGA, Inc. has around $400 million in campaign funds, which Trump called “my money” while speaking to reporters this week, adding, “I’m going to spend whatever amount of money necessary to try and help us.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
