President Donald Trump’s super political action committee has begun spending money in the 2026 midterm general elections, answering the call from many Republicans who have been eager for the financial support.
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MAGA Inc., the super PAC allied with the president, on Saturday disclosed a $10 million digital and television ad buy to boost Ken Paxton, the Republican Senate nominee in Texas, and attack his Democratic opponent, James Talarico. The spending puts an end to a standoff between MAGA Inc. and several other GOP groups over who would help finance ads for Paxton.
The filing Saturday is the first general election spending by the super PAC, which has amassed an extraordinary cash reserve of more than $400 million.
During a news conference Friday, Trump said MAGA Inc. would probably spend $400 million to $500 million in the midterms. “I’m going to help a lot of the congressmen and senators,” he added.
The Texas race is among the most competitive in the country and will help determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.
And Texas, with its 18-plus television markets, is an especially expensive setting to run a statewide campaign. In the Republican primary and subsequent runoff, nearly $130 million was spent on advertising.
On Saturday, MAGA Inc. released an ad calling Paxton, the Texas attorney general, the better candidate on the issue of taxes.
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Even as the president has supported Paxton’s campaign, he has also disparaged him. “You might not like the way he looks, you might not love his look, you might not love his television interviews, but he was the best attorney general in the country, perhaps,” Trump said at a Rose Garden event this past week.
Paxton deflected the criticism during a Fox News appearance. “Texas is a rather casual place in the summer and it’s hot,” he said. “We adjust. Wear cowboy boots, a blazer, and we’re good.”
Paxton’s ability to raise money has been complicated by the grudges still held by some donors after a bruising Republican primary in which he beat the incumbent, Sen. John Cornyn, with the help of an endorsement from Trump.
And Talarico, a state representative, has proved to be a prodigious fundraiser. On Saturday, his campaign brushed off the news of MAGA Inc.’s spending plans.
“Billionaire-backed dark money groups are lying about James Talarico because they’re scared of the people-powered movement we’re building to fix this broken, corrupt political system,” said JT Ennis, a campaign spokesperson.
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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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