Talarico tells Musk Texas Senate seat is not for sale

Elon Musk gave $158 million to a Republican fundraising group that transferred the same amount to a super PAC supporting Ken Paxton, according to federal filings cited by The Guardian.

That number has become the center of Democrat James Talarico's closing argument in Texas's Senate race. At rallies, online and in a new campaign ad, Talarico has cast Musk as a billionaire trying to purchase a senator in Paxton, the Republican Texas attorney general.

The fight: Musk wrote on X that there was “something deeply wrong with James Talarico.” Talarico replied: “There is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal U.S. Senator.” Musk later posted that “Talarico hates Texas and America” while sharing a video about voter-ID requirements.

At a Friday rally at the University of Texas at Austin, Talarico said Musk was “almost single-handedly bankrolling” the effort to elect Paxton. He also said Musk was behind attack ads, mailers containing lies and alarming voter text messages.

The money: The $158 million went from Musk to the Senate Leadership Fund and then to Texas PAC, a Republican super PAC supporting Paxton. CNBC separately calculated that at least $189.6 million of Musk's political spending had supported Paxton through various methods, part of roughly $366 million Musk has spent across 40 races this cycle. The exact total attached to Paxton depends on which bucket of political money you count. Either way, it is not subtle.

Talarico's new ad says Musk is funding dark-money groups backing Paxton and ends with the line, “Texas is not for sale.” Talarico told the Austin crowd that his campaign was funded by 1.3 million people while Paxton was funded by “one dude.” His campaign says it raised $64 million from July through September, with 97% of donations under $100.

The race: Talarico held a narrow lead in late October polling. The Guardian cited a RealClearPolitics average putting him ahead by 1.8 points, while an Emerson College Polling and Nexstar Media survey found Talarico at 48% and Paxton at 46%. Early voting began Oct. 19, and Talarico voted Friday.

The thing to watch through Nov. 3 is whether Talarico's small-donor pitch can compete with the outside spending he has made the campaign's main villain.