President Donald Trump said Thursday that if Texas Senate nominee Ken Paxton loses, the blame will fall on incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and commentator Karl Rove, whom he accused of making it hard for Paxton to beat Democratic nominee James Talarico. Cornyn lost the Republican primary to Paxton after Trump endorsed him, a move seen as a major gamble given Paxton's scandals and opposition within his party. Recent polls show Talarico leading by a low-to-mid single-digit margin in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1988. According to AdImpact, Republican-aligned spending has topped $370 million, nearly $235 million more than Democratic spending, making it the most expensive race of the cycle. Rove, whom Trump has repeatedly attacked, said he would back a Democrat in a different Texas race, his second Democratic vote in his life.
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- Tracking the money raised and spent in the U . S . Senate race between James Talarico and Ken Paxton
In the most recent quarterly filing, James Talarico's campaign raised about $64 million and Ken Paxton's about $18 million. Since the start of 2025, Talarico has raised a cumulative $136.9 million compared with Paxton's $35.6 million, and ended October with $17.6 million on hand versus Paxton's $15.9 million. Talarico's fundraising relies largely on small donors, with about half from people giving less than $200, while more than 83% of Paxton's contributions came from larger donors. Paxton draws about 45% of his total from joint fundraising committees, compared with about 10% for Talarico, and the article notes that a Supreme Court ruling lifting limits on party coordinated spending is expected to benefit Republicans more.
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Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico says he raised $64 million in the third quarter, which his campaign calls a Senate fundraising record that surpasses the previous $57 million high. He has raised more than $134 million since launching his campaign, with more than 1.3 million donors and 97% of contributions at $100 or less. By comparison, Republican nominee Ken Paxton and his affiliated committees raised a combined $18 million in the quarter, but Republican outside groups have spent more than $175 million since Sept. 1 supporting Paxton or attacking Talarico. Elon Musk gave $10 million to a pro-Paxton super PAC, and FiftyPlusOne's polling average shows Talarico leading 48.5% to 45.2% in a state where no Democrat has won statewide since 1994. Full FEC filings will show how much each campaign spent and how much cash it had left.
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- Here how Husted answered our questions on data centers , Iran war , other issues in U . S . Senate race | Local
Republican Sen. Jon Husted, in an interview with Ohio newspapers, acknowledged that midterms are tough on the party in power but said he will win if voters who backed President Trump two years ago turn out in significant numbers. He dismissed polls showing Democrat Sherrod Brown ahead, including a YouGov poll with Brown at 49% and Husted at 45% and an InsiderAdvantage poll with Brown up by 1 point, noting that some past polls were poor indicators of results. On data centers, Husted said his bill requiring them to pay for needed energy infrastructure passed the House 417-3 but failed in the Senate, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance, and that local communities should decide whether to accept such projects. On the Iran war, he said the conflict should end on terms favorable to the U.S., and he voted against a resolution that would have directed President Trump to end military hostilities, which failed 49-50. Brown's campaign declined a similar interview invitation.
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