President Donald Trump’s super-PAC, MAGA Inc., donated $10 million to the U.S. Senate campaign of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings published on Saturday, September 5, 2026. The contribution is intended to fund television and digital advertisements in Texas ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The donation comes as Paxton faces a competitive race against Democratic candidate James Talarico in a state where Republicans have held both Senate seats for three decades. While Trump won Texas by 14 points in the 2024 presidential election, an August poll from Texas Public Opinion Research showed Paxton trailing Talarico by 6 points. Republican strategist Karl Rove stated on Wednesday that Paxton needed a significant financial investment to define his opponent to voters.
According to FEC filings, the $10 million was paid to Del Ray Media, a political media company. CBS News reported that the funds are split equally, with $5 million designated for positive advertisements supporting Paxton and $5 million for negative advertisements targeting Talarico. A spokesperson for MAGA Inc., Alex Pfeiffer, stated the ads would focus on Talarico’s fiscal policies, while Talarico’s campaign has countered by selling merchandise featuring a nickname given to him by the president.
For Texas voters, this investment will result in a concrete increase in political media saturation across television and digital platforms starting in September. The spending follows a shift by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which moved the Texas Senate race to its "toss-up" category. The report cited Paxton’s disapproval ratings following his 2023 impeachment by the Texas House on corruption charges, an event that resulted in a Senate acquittal but revealed details of an extramarital affair.
The infusion of capital sets a precedent for how the former president may deploy his reported $400 million to $500 million midterm budget across other competitive states. The outcome will determine if Texas remains a Republican stronghold or if Democrats can flip a seat they have not held since the 1990s. The midterm elections are scheduled for November 2026, with additional attack ads from other groups, such as the Lone Star Liberty PAC, slated to begin airing this month.