Trump and Paxton Target Texas Senate Seat with $563 Million in Ads

More than $563 million has been spent on advertising in the Texas U.S. Senate race, according to the ad tracking firm AdImpact. President Donald Trump returned to the state on Tuesday to help Republican Ken Paxton defend a seat that has not elected a Democrat to statewide office in 32 years. The president is in Corpus Christi and plans to travel to Lubbock later in the day.

Trump held a midterm convention in Dallas in September, marking his first such event. This trip is his third visit to Texas since then. He has also campaigned in Mississippi, Michigan, Georgia, Florida, and Iowa over the past week. His upcoming stops include Ohio, South Carolina, Florida, Kansas, and Iowa, all states he won in the 2024 election. He is entering the final week of his last midterms as president.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined the president in Texas. A State Department official said Rubio is traveling in his capacity as national security adviser rather than secretary of state. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that Rubio needs time with the president to discuss various issues. Trump said in Corpus Christi that the pair were celebrating the arrival of an oil tanker filled with Venezuelan crude for Texas refineries.

The race faces its fiercest test because Democrat James Talarico has capitalized on Paxton's history of legal and ethical problems. Talarico plans to hold events in Midland, Amarillo, and Lubbock on Tuesday, potentially creating a split-screen moment with Trump and Paxton. Elon Musk, who has headquartered Tesla and SpaceX in Texas, has invested $158 million to defeat Talarico. That sum went to the Senate Leadership Fund, which then passed the same amount to the Texas PAC, the largest contributor to Paxton's campaign.

Musk has called Talarico a "lunatic left" on his social media platform X, reaching his 241 million followers. Talarico has begun naming Musk in his speeches, arguing that wealthy donations have corrupted politics and fueled the affordability crisis. Paxton tends not to discuss Musk during his own stops. The gubernatorial race mirrors this dynamic, as Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa has sought communications between Musk and Gov. Greg Abbott.

A judge ruled on Monday that Hinojosa, a state representative, must be able to review over 1,000 unredacted pages by Thursday. The ruling allows her to examine the relationship between Abbott and Musk. This development parallels the Senate race, where Talarico argues that the cozy relationship between the governor and the ultra-wealthy demonstrates a broader corruption of the political system.

Vice President JD Vance is also active on the trail, stopping in Michigan on Tuesday. He described the Senate race between Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed as a clash of competing visions. Ahead of his trip, Vance addressed concerns about the Alaska Senate race, where Trump ordered the Department of Justice to file a lawsuit if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses. Trump has complained about a second candidate named Dan Sullivan, whom Republicans fear could siphon votes from the incumbent.

Alaskan voters will see Dan S. Sullivan identified as a registered Republican and incumbent, while Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. will not have a party affiliation. Alaska’s Republican election officials wanted the second Sullivan removed for attempting to mislead voters. However, a state court and Alaska’s Supreme Court disagreed and kept the second candidate on the ballot.