A group allied with Senate Republican leaders booked more than $51 million in ads, erasing the financial edge James Talarico (St Rep-D Texas) had held for months. Paxton was impeached by the Texas House in 2023 over allegations that he abused his office to help donor Nate Paul, then acquitted by the state Senate — the history that had kept national party money out of the race.
Talarico, a Democratic state representative, had outspent Paxton for months while national Republican groups kept their distance. Most of the new spending comes from independent groups, whose dollars buy fewer rating points than candidate spending at legally protected rates.