Talarico announces record-breaking $64 million fundraising haul
The Talarico campaign said that brings his total fundraising to $134 million since he announced his candidacy last year.
Key points
- James Talarico raised $64 million in three months, a record for any Senate candidate in a third quarter.
- His total fundraising since announcing last year is $134 million.
- Ken Paxton raised $18 million in the same period, and early voting in Texas starts Monday.
Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico raised $64 million in three months, his campaign announced Thursday. The campaign said the figure is more than any Senate candidate has ever raised in a third quarter, and it brings Talarico's total fundraising to $134 million since he announced his candidacy last year.
Republican opponent Attorney General Ken Paxton said earlier this month that he had raised $18 million in the same period. Talarico's haul broke the previous third-quarter record of $57 million, set by Jamie Harrison during his unsuccessful 2020 Senate campaign in South Carolina.
Fundraising history in Texas
A Democrat has not won a Senate election in Texas since 1988, but Democratic candidates there have raised large sums. In 2018, Beto O'Rourke raised a then-record $38 million in the same three-month period.
Recent polls have shown Talarico with a slight lead over Paxton. Incumbent GOP Sen. John Cornyn, a prolific fundraiser, lost the primary earlier this year to Paxton, who has long struggled as a fundraiser. Republicans have put hundreds of millions into the race to support Paxton, even as audio clips leaked of Paxton appearing to disparage national involvement in the race.
We have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis.
— James Talarico
Trump and the campaign trail
President Trump, who backed Paxton in the primary against Cornyn and is a longtime ally, has traveled to Texas three times in a month to campaign for Paxton. CNN hosted a town hall with Talarico on Wednesday night and said Paxton had been invited but declined to respond. CNN and CBS are both owned by Skydance.
At the town hall, Talarico focused on the economy, telling voters, "We have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis." He also discussed abortion and his recent absence from the campaign trail, confirming he had the flu and rejecting online conspiracy theories about it. Paxton announced Wednesday that his campaign will begin a two-week bus tour this weekend near Fort Worth, ending the night before Election Day at the Alamo. Early voting starts Monday in Texas.
