# Texas Senate nail-biter

News · Heat 3.5 / 10 · 3 shows · 10m airtime

Early voting in the Texas Senate race opened on October 19, with RealClearPolitics' average putting Democrat James Talarico two points ahead of Republican Ken Paxton. The contest has passed $500 million in ad spending. Reporting since has established that no market-by-market local ad buys are available in Texas, so campaigns are buying national to reach the state. The margin remains narrow enough that the outcome is unsettled.

Page: https://boilpoints.com/point/texas_senate_nail_biter_957757891

## Segments

- [Pivot](https://boilpoints.com/u/pivot), 2026-10-25, 51:58 to 56:15: **Opens the Texas Senate race as voting starts**. Opens the Texas Senate race as early voting starts: Talarico up two in RealClearPolitics, more than $500 million in ad spending, and New York Times focus groups of 2024 Trump voters calling Paxton a crook. Stays with the panel's read on candidate quality and Talarico's response ad. New angle: Early voting in Texas began this week with Talarico up two points on Paxton, in a race past $500 million in ad spending.
- [The Dan Bongino Show](https://boilpoints.com/u/thedanbonginoshow), 2026-10-26, 43:30 to 46:24: **Reads the Texas early-vote numbers**. Bongino reads the Texas early-vote numbers from Seth Keshel and Data Republican, says they could be a little better, and refuses to panic because Republicans vote on election day. The rest is a Talarico clip and disbelief the race is close - reaction, not new reporting.
- [The Fox News Rundown](https://boilpoints.com/u/thefoxnewsrundown), 2026-10-26, 6:25 to 9:25: **Explains why the record spending buys so little**. Shaw puts the Texas race on track to be the most expensive Senate race in history and explains why the money buys so little: ad effects of a point or two that decay fast. He adds that no market-by-market local buys exist in Texas, so the campaigns are buying national to be seen in the state. New angle: No market-by-market local ad buys are available in Texas, so campaigns are buying national to reach the state.