Trump’s super PAC spent $10 million this week to support Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his tight Senate race, a financial disclosure filed Saturday afternoon revealed.
The Sept. 4 expenditures for digital advertising marked MAGA Inc.’s first major spending run in the 60 days before the November midterms. The spending reflects a mounting GOP pressure campaign on the president to do more to boost those in competitive races this cycle — particularly Paxton, who’s considered a weak candidate by many Republicans.
And the recent blitz in spending at the end of this week illuminates the party’s diverging priorities on which candidates merit big donations two months out from Nov. 3.
Elon Musk’s America PAC disclosures revealed the tech billionaire spent a combined $1.6 million on Texas this week to support Paxton and defeat his Democratic opponent, James Talarico. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s super PAC did not give Paxton any money this week, instead sending more than $3 million each to Ohio and Michigan, financial disclosures filed Friday night showed.
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Momentum has so far been on Democrats’ side in Texas: Talarico holds a slight lead in recent polling over the state attorney general, and the Cook Political Report categorized the race as a “toss up” in a leftward rating shift last month. Talarico has also raised more money than any nonincumbent candidate nationwide this election cycle, with more than $70 million in cash on hand. He’s even had to issue refunds to not run afoul of federal donation limits.
Thune this week implied the White House could do more to support party members engaged in tight Senate races across the country — particularly the embattled Texas attorney general, whom Trump backed over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn this spring in a high-drama endorsement decision.
“We’ve got to make sure that those races are resourced,” Thune, who backed Cornyn in the primary, told Fox News on Monday. “We are certainly hopeful that the president and his team and MAGA Inc. will be engaged in some of these races. Some states are incredibly expensive.”
Thune’s Senate Leadership Fund reported spending in several other key races this week, devoting $2.4 million to North Carolina, $1.78 million to Maine, $1.1 million to Georgia and under $1 million each to Iowa and Alaska — all of which are currently rated as “toss up” or “lean Democrat” by the Cook Political Report.
Meanwhile, Musk disclosed $2.85 million in additional spending on Friday night after revealing an initial $800,000 in battleground state expenditures earlier this week. Outside of his Texas donation, the tech billionaire sent hundreds of thousands each to Alaska, Michigan, Iowa and Ohio, which attracted his second-highest spend of $648,000 to defeat Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Musk also spent around $60,000 total on incumbent Reps. Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, David Valadao of California and Gabe Evans of Colorado, as well as Washington congressional candidate John Braun.
Trump said on Friday he will allocate “probably four or 500 million” this cycle after claiming his super PAC has “close to” $1 billion — more than double what MAGA Inc. reported in cash on hand in its most recent financial disclosure. The political committee does not need to disclose its cash on hand through Aug. 31 until mid-September.
MAGA Inc.’s nonprofit arm released two new ads on Saturday that both focus on taxes and affordability, saying Paxton would be a better choice for taxpayers.
“Talarico? Higher taxes. Paxton? Lower taxes. A clear choice,” one spot says.
Paxton thanked the president for his support shortly after the new broadcast ads dropped, writing on X, “Together we will win for Texas and America.”
Trump’s political committee released two other ads earlier this week that heavily centered the president and his agenda without mentioning Congress. Data from tracking firm AdImpact show those spots cost around $1 million and were broadcast in markets across the country.
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