Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. launches $10 million ad buy for Ken Paxton in Texas

$10 million ad buy in Texas

The pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. launched its general election spending on Saturday, 5 September 2026, with a $10 million digital and television advertising campaign in Texas. The expenditure supports Republican nominee Ken Paxton in his contest for the US Senate against Democratic challenger James Talarico. Filings submitted to the Federal Election Commission confirm that the purchase marks the largest single disbursement by MAGA Inc. so far in the 2026 political cycle. The initial commercial focuses directly on economic policy, promoting Paxton on taxation while attacking his opponent's fiscal platform. The deployment follows weeks of discussions among several conservative political committees regarding the allocation of resources for Paxton's campaign.

Cash reserves and primary allocations

MAGA Inc. enters the autumn general election campaign holding a cash balance of over $400 million, built on contributions including $18 million gathered in June and $3 million raised in July. During a White House press conference on Friday, Donald Trump described the fund as totaling close to a billion dollars and estimated that between $400 million and $500 million would go directly toward midterm races. Before Saturday, the political action committee had largely withheld general election disbursements, focusing only on select primary races across the country. Those earlier outlays included $560,000 distributed in May to support a challenger against Representative Thomas Massie in Kentucky, as well as more than $827,000 deployed in August to assist Senator Darline Graham in a primary runoff.

I'm going to spend whatever amount of money necessary to try to help us, and this is money from MAGA Inc. This is my money that I control.

Fundraising disparity across Texas media markets

Texas represents an expensive media landscape requiring statewide campaigns to purchase broadcast time across more than 18 distinct television markets. James Talarico, a Democratic state representative, built a wide fundraising advantage by securing $68 million in total contributions through the end of June 2026. Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, raised $9 million during that same accounting period, leading some party members to criticize the pace of his campaign operations. To narrow the financial gap, several outside groups have committed millions of dollars in television and digital messaging. The Elon Musk-funded America PAC reported spending $2.4 million on Paxton's behalf as of 2 September, while Lone Star Liberty PAC initiated a separate $15 million advertising effort earlier in the week.

High Tax Talarico 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.

Republican party mobilization and primary divisions

Republicans have held every statewide office in Texas for more than three decades, and Trump carried the state by approximately 14 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election against Kamala Harris. Paxton secured the Senate nomination after defeating incumbent Senator John Cornyn in a contested Republican primary with Trump's endorsement. That intraparty battle caused friction with several traditional donors who had supported Cornyn and remained hesitant to fund Paxton during the general election. In response to the competitive race, party leadership has stepped in to coordinate campaign resources. Senate Majority Leader John Thune will attend a donor event in Dallas next week during the state midterm convention, while the Thune-aligned Senate Leadership Fund super PAC has shared polling data and research with Lone Star Liberty PAC.