A new arm of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s political committee on Thursday disclosed $2.1 million in spending on an ad against Texas Republican Ken Paxton. It’s the first major spending by Democratic leadership in the state’s Senate race — but a drop in the bucket compared to Republicans’ investments over the past month.
The Senate Majority PAC’s affiliate committee, Texas Forever, spent the money on a digital ad that dropped Tuesday. The spot addresses Paxton’s handling of a controversial plea deal in a high-profile child sex abuse case, in which the state attorney general reduced former Waco defense attorney Adam Hoffman’s charges in exchange for his guilty pleas of sexually abusing his son’s friend.
“Ken Paxton is dangerously corrupt for Texas,” the ad says, saying Paxton awarded Hoffman an “Epstein-style deal to let a pedophile walk free.”
The new ad buy pales in comparison to Republicans’ spending in the state — particularly by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, whose Senate Leadership Fund super PAC has disclosed $130 million in Texas spending since September, a number that will likely balloon as Nov. 3 draws closer.
Trending
Spending habits in the state reflect intertwining anxieties within both parties about Democrats’ chances of winning a Senate seat for the first time since 1988.
Democrats historically haven’t spent significant amounts of money in Texas’ expensive media market, and the party is currently facing a major cash crunch. But the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Thune’s super PAC have also had to increasingly direct more resources to what should be a reliably red seat, especially as state Rep. James Talarico maintains a tight polling lead.
President Donald Trump kicked off his ambitious midterm campaign blitz in Durant, Oklahoma, and Denton, Texas, on Thursday in hopes of amplifying Republicans’ accomplishments in already red states.
But even the president’s preferred candidate hasn’t garnered much enthusiasm: Despite party leaders’ pleas for him to get more financially involved in the tight race, Trump has only disclosed spending about $20 million for Paxton, whom he endorsed over Sen. John Cornyn this spring.
“He can be a pain in the ass sometimes, I’ll be honest,” Trump said while praising Paxton during his Texas speech Thursday, asking if the state attorney general was even in the room. “Oh, there he is. I didn’t even know if he’s here — I don’t care.”
Author
