Senate Republican leaders are putting major money behind Ken Paxton in Texas after spending much of the primary fighting to keep him off the November ballot.

Texas PAC, a new group connected to the Senate Leadership Fund, has reserved approximately $51.3 million in broadcast television advertising across the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin media markets.

The buy is the first general-election investment in Texas from the political network aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune. That is a sharp turn from the primary, when national Senate Republicans backed longtime Sen. John Cornyn over Paxton.

The Texas Tribune reported that the $51.3 million purchase covers the state’s four largest media markets. The outlet said Senate Leadership Fund had stayed out of the Texas television race until now, even after Republican leaders began publicly supporting Paxton following his runoff victory.

The same report notes that the Texas move follows an initial $342 million reservation plan covering eight other Senate contests, including five Republican-held seats and three Democratic-held seats.

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The Dallas Express highlighted the new $51.3 million Paxton ad push in its Sunday roundup of major Texas political developments:

President Trump endorsed Paxton late in the Republican runoff. Paxton then defeated Cornyn in May, leaving party leaders with a nominee they had opposed and a general-election race that was becoming much more expensive.

Trump’s political operation has since entered the contest as well. MAGA Inc., a super PAC aligned with the president, reserved $10 million in Texas advertising.

Elon Musk’s America PAC has spent more than $2.6 million on calls, text messages and printed advertising supporting Paxton and opposing Democrat James Talarico.

The latest figures show how quickly the spending picture has changed. The Axios count, also based on AdImpact data, placed Texas PAC above $41 million in September spending as reservations were still growing.

Axios reported that Republicans had reserved at least $10 million more than Democrats in Texas, Michigan and Ohio for the month. Its national review also found that outside groups were driving much of the fall advertising surge as both parties competed for control of the Senate.

Those figures measure booked and reserved advertising, so schedules can still change before all of the airtime is delivered. Even so, the reservations show where outside groups are committing resources as Election Day approaches.

Two Texas PAC ads began airing Saturday. One focuses on a sex-trafficking case Paxton prosecuted as attorney general.

The other attacks Talarico over comments concerning transgender children.

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The first spot is visible in this post from Medium Buying, which tracks political television advertising:

Since Paxton won the runoff, Republican groups have spent or reserved $81.1 million in Texas advertising through the end of September, according to the updated Tribune report. Democratic spending stands at $43.7 million, nearly all of it from Talarico’s campaign.

Those totals do not translate directly into equal airtime. Candidate campaigns generally receive lower broadcast rates than outside super PACs, so Talarico’s campaign dollars can buy more television time than the same amount spent by an outside group.

Paxton’s own campaign had not made a major television purchase when the latest spending data was published. The outside money is therefore doing much of the work of closing the advertising gap.

A Sunday post from commentator M.A. Rothman also featured the size and timing of the Republican super PAC reservation:

The scale of the spending shows that national Republicans now regard Texas as a competitive part of the battle for Senate control. Talarico has led Paxton in several public polls and entered the fall with a substantial fundraising advantage.

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Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win control of the Senate. The growing investment in Texas puts the state alongside other expensive contests that could affect the chamber’s majority.

National Republican leaders have also made their support explicit since the runoff, repeatedly highlighting President Trump’s backing of Paxton. Their financial commitment now matches that public position.

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Texas PAC’s purchase removes any remaining doubt about whether the party’s national leadership would stay out after losing the primary. The answer is now measured in tens of millions of dollars, with the state’s largest television markets set to see the consequences through Election Day.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

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