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Talarico outraising Paxton

News · Heat 2.4 / 10 · 5 shows · 16m airtime

In early October 2026, fundraising figures showed James Talarico raising more money out of Highland Park than Ken Paxton, with Republicans adding $50 million to the Texas Senate race. Third-quarter totals put Talarico at $64 million, the most any Senate candidate has raised, against Paxton's $18 million. Republicans outspent Democrats by 25 percent in September but ran only about 9 percent more ads. The most-aired ad by dollars this year is a Texas attack on Talarico over transgender care. Whether a protest vote against Paxton among Cornyn-style suburban Republicans could hand Talarico a six-year term remains contested.

How 5 podcasts covered it

  1. Ruthless Podcast, 2026-10-02 (12:38 to 15:32)
    Reports Talarico outraising Paxton in Highland Park
    Turns to the money: Talarico is outraising Paxton in Highland Park, and Republicans have added $50 million to the Texas race. The hosts frame it as a warning to suburban Republicans weighing a protest vote.
    New angle: Talarico is raising more money out of Highland Park than Paxton, and Republicans added $50 million to the Texas race.
  2. The Megyn Kelly Show, 2026-10-16 (6:29 to 7:58)
    Reports Talarico's $64 million quarter
    Goes to the third-quarter filings: Talarico's $64 million is the largest quarterly haul any Senate candidate has recorded, against $18 million for Paxton, with Paxton on Fox News attributing the gap to out-of-state money.
    New angle: Talarico raised $64 million in the third quarter, the most any Senate candidate has raised, to Paxton's $18 million.
  3. Pod Save America, 2026-10-16 (13:24 to 15:03)
    Explains the money edge behind Talarico's haul
    Puts Talarico's haul at $65 million and uses it to explain the mechanics of the Democratic money edge: hard money buys candidates the lowest unit rate, so Republicans outspent Democrats by 25 percent in September while running only about 9 percent more ads.
    New angle: Republicans outspent Democrats by 25 percent in September but ran only about 9 percent more ads.
  4. The Fox News Rundown, 2026-10-19 (3:01 to 6:23)
    Recaps the fundraising hauls and cautions on records
    Kraushaar sizes the Democratic wave and runs through the quarter's fundraising hauls - Talarico over $60 million, Jackson in Maine, El-Sayed in Michigan - then cautions that O'Rourke and Harrison set records and lost. A recap of numbers already on the record.
  5. The Daily, 2026-10-26 (5:04 to 9:51)
    Adds the drug-money ad against Hinson
    Walks through the Democratic ad story: Trump, inflation and corruption tied to cost of living. Uses Talarico's grocery-store spot and an anti-Hinson drug-price ad as examples, and notes the anti-Hinson ad cites $160,000 from drug companies.
    New angle: An anti-Ashley Hinson ad says she took over $160,000 from drug companies and voted to raise prices.
  6. The Daily, 2026-10-26 (23:53 to 26:11)
    Names the most-aired ad by dollars
    Turns to the Republican side of the ad war and names the single most-aired spot of the cycle by dollars: a Texas attack on Talarico over transgender care, built around a mother of five.
    New angle: The most-aired ad by dollars this year is a Texas attack on Talarico over transgender care.
Unpacking...