Senate Republicans finally mobilize with big money for Ken Paxton in Texas

DALLAS - Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC affiliated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, is coming off the sidelines in Texas' U.S. [KSAT 12]

A major Republican-aligned political committee made its first substantial financial commitment to Texas' competitive U.S. Senate race Friday, signaling growing concerns about the state's vulnerability in an increasingly difficult midterm environment for the GOP.

Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC backing Senate Majority Leader John Thune, deployed roughly $32 million in broadcast television advertising across major Texas markets through a newly formed group called Texas PAC. The spending covered Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin, according to AdImpact, a media tracking service. The move represented a dramatic shift in strategy after Senate Republicans had conspicuously avoided investing campaign resources in Texas since the primary election concluded.

Thune had previously made public appeals to President Donald Trump's political apparatus to channel funds into supporting Republican nominee Ken Paxton, emphasizing the prohibitively high cost of advertising in Texas, which contains 20 distinct media markets. That advocacy bore fruit when MAGA Inc., the Trump-aligned super PAC, committed $10 million to television time in the state over the weekend—marking its initial spending in any general election contest.

The financial intervention underscores Republican anxiety about maintaining control of a reliably conservative state that has seldom required significant financial shoring up from national party leadership. Paxton currently trails Democrat James Talarico in public polling surveys while facing a substantial fundraising disadvantage relative to his opponent and allied groups supporting him. The disparity has given Talarico dominance on the airwaves in the state.

Senate Republicans had previously prioritized backing longtime Sen. John Cornyn through the primary phase, with SLF-affiliated dark money group OneNation investing millions in summer 2025 to promote Cornyn. Party strategists had warned that Paxton's record of legal and ethical controversies would jeopardize the seat and necessitate expensive defensive measures. Though Paxton prevailed in a runoff against Cornyn, and GOP leaders including Thune subsequently hosted fundraisers on his behalf, the Senate Leadership Fund maintained distance from the race until Friday's commitment.

The Texas spending represents a reordering of SLF's national priorities. The committee had previously reserved advertising inventory across eight competitive battleground states at a projected cost of $342 million—encompassing five seats where Republicans faced challenges and three Democratic-held seats the party targeted for pickup. The organization has continued channeling resources into races in Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina.