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2026 Texas Senate Election

Tossup
Open

About this race

No current officeholder is running — the seat will have a new winner. Forecasters say it’s too close to call — one of the most competitive races of the year. Ken Paxton, a Republican, shows a record of donations linked to AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, but the exact amount is still being confirmed.

Key issues in Texas

Major issues facing Texas, based on 2025–2026 reporting. Compare them with what each candidate says they focus on below.

Candidates & funding

Ken Paxton Republican Nominee

Campaign raised $5,900,000
Super PAC / outside spending $3MSmall-dollar / grassroots $5.9M
AIPAC-linkedamount under verification
FundVoter lists an AIPAC-linked FEC record for this candidate; the dollar amount is still under verification.
2026 fundraising (FEC)$9,248,692 raised · $7,493,398 spent · $1,755,294 cash on hand through Sep 30, 2026
Focus: Defend Texas values and election integrity; keep Texas red

James Talarico Democrat Nominee

Campaign raised $20,000,000+
Super PAC / outside spending $4.1MSmall-dollar / grassroots $20M+Refuses corporate PAC money
✓ No AIPAC-linked FEC record
2026 fundraising (FEC)$68,560,930 raised · $47,012,775 spent · $21,548,155 cash on hand through Jun 30, 2026
Focus: Take power back for working people; fight corruption in Washington

Where the money comes from

FEC campaign finance data through Sep 30, 2026. Campaign dollars, by source.

Ken Paxton RJames Talarico D
Raised$9.2M$68.6M
Individuals$9M98%$65.6M96%
PACs & parties$220K2%$348K1%
Self-funded$0$0
Other$9K0%$2.6M4%
AIPAC-linked*——
Outside spending†——

* AIPAC-linked money is already counted in the rows above — it flags the pro-Israel share, not extra money.

† Independent spending on ads for or against a candidate. It never goes to their campaign.

“Individuals” covers both small-dollar (under $200) and large donors.

Who are the biggest donors?

Every donor ranked by how much they gave, from the candidate’s own FEC filings — individuals, PACs, and party committees all in one list. Expand a candidate to see theirs, then tap any name to learn more about the donor.

Why are so many gifts exactly $10,000? That’s the legal maximum a PAC can give one candidate for the whole cycle — $5,000 for the primary plus $5,000 for the general — so many PACs give the max. Individuals can give up to $3,500 per election.

Ken Paxton 5099 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$9.2M
Campaign spent$7.5M
Cash on hand$1.8M
FEC 2026 through 09/30/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals98%
PACs / committees2%
Self-funding0%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
  • Party committee$62K
  • Individual$28K
  • Individual$21K
  • Individual$21K
  • Individual$21K
  • Individual$17K
  • Individual$16K
  • Individual$15K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
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  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
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  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K

Showing the 50 biggest of 5099 donors. The other 5049 gave $6.6M combined.

Plus $1.9M from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.

See Ken Paxton’s full FEC filings →

James Talarico 50898 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$68.6M
Campaign spent$47.0M
Cash on hand$21.5M
FEC 2026 through 06/30/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals96%
PACs / committees1%
Self-funding0%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
  • Individual$24K
  • Individual$24K
  • Individual$23K
  • Individual$23K
  • Individual$23K
  • Individual$22K
  • Individual$22K
  • Individual$20K
  • Individual$19K
  • Individual$18K
  • Individual$18K
  • Individual$18K
  • Individual$18K
  • Individual$18K
  • Individual$18K
  • Individual$16K
  • Individual$16K
  • Individual$15K
  • Individual$15K
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  • Individual$14K
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  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K

Showing the 50 biggest of 50898 donors. The other 50848 gave $28.5M combined.

Plus $36.7M from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.

See James Talarico’s full FEC filings →

These figures come from the candidate’s own itemized FEC reports (2026 cycle, through the coverage date above), with amendments applied and refunds netted. Joint fundraising transfers are left out of the ranking: they’re pass-throughs, and the individual donations behind them are listed above. Bank interest, vendor refunds, and other non-donation receipts are excluded. Donor names are as reported — the same person can appear twice if their name was recorded differently. Independent spending on ads is never included here — see the Outside spending column.

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