Attorney General Ken Paxton raised over $18 million last quarter for his U.S. Senate bid - a personal best that is larger than his prior two quarters combined, yet still trails the record hauls his Democratic opponent James Talarico has posted this year.

Paxton's $18 million sum, raised from July 1 through the end of September, more than doubles his second-quarter haul of $9 million and far outpaces the sums he raised during his winning primary battle with Sen. John Cornyn.

The third quarter was the first in which Paxton was Texas' Republican Senate nominee for all three months, meaning he was no longer competing for GOP donors.