James Talarico vs. Ken Paxton: Senate campaign finance by the numbers
This high-stakes U.S. Senate race is drawing money from across the country. Democratic state Rep. James Talarico has raised more in direct campaign contributions, while outside groups have spent more to help Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. See where each candidate's money is coming from in the breakdowns below.
Head to head
Fueled by a wave of small-dollar donations, Talarico's campaign has outraised Paxton's by a wide margin. A small-dollar donor is a person who gives less than $200 total to a candidate during an election. Once a donor crosses the $200 mark, campaigns must disclose more information about the donor, including their name, occupation and address. Campaigns can also receive funds from joint fundraising efforts, PACs and party committees.
| Metric | Talarico | Paxton |
|---|---|---|
| Total dollars raised by each campaign (as of Oct. 14, 2026) | $146M | $22.3M |
| Small-dollar(Donors who have given $200 or less in total) | $75.3M | $6.07M |
| Itemized individual(Donors who have given more than $200 in total) | $64.5M | $14.9M |
| Joint fundraising transfers(From committees raising for several candidates) | $5.98M | $854k |
| Other(PACs, party committees, interest and refunds) | $589k | $476k |
Average gift
Itemized gifts plus every ActBlue and WinRed gift
Campaign dollars spent vs. on hand
Talarico's campaign entered the final stretch of the race with more cash on hand.
| Metric | Talarico | Paxton |
|---|---|---|
| Total dollars spent by each campaign | $136M | $17.5M |
| Cash on hand | $9.92M | $4.78M |
Outside spending
Outside spending refers to money that independent groups, such as super PACs, spend on ads and other efforts. These funds can be dispatched to support or oppose a candidate, but campaigns are barred from coordinating directly with these outside groups. As Election Day approached, money supporting Paxton and opposing Talarico appeared to offset the gap in direct campaign contributions between the candidates.
| Metric | Talarico | Paxton |
|---|---|---|
| Outside spending on each candidate (as of Oct. 26, 2026) | $80.3M | $300M |
| For the candidate(Spending that supports each candidate) | $18.9M | $92.5M |
| Against the opponent(Spending that opposes the other candidate) | $61.4M | $208M |
Out-of-state contributions
Most of Talarico's individual donations come from outside Texas, while most of Paxton's come from within the state. These charts show where each candidate's donors live, based on contributions that list an address. The ABC Data Team also analyzed filings from ActBlue and WinRed to determine locations for small-dollar donors. Note: About 5% of Talarico's individual money and 10% of Paxton's has no location information.
| Metric | Talarico | Paxton |
|---|---|---|
| Out-of-state dollars(Includes small-dollar gifts made through ActBlue and WinRed) | $80.8M | $5.73M |
Out-of-state share
Talarico (D)
60.8% outside Texas 39.2% from Texas
Paxton (R)
30.7% outside Texas 69.3% from Texas
Maps: Out-of-state contributions
Talarico's donor base stretches from coast to coast: his California donors alone have given nearly three times as much as all of Paxton's out-of-state donors combined.
Top 5 donor cities outside Texas
New York City tops both candidates' lists of out-of-state donor cities, but Talarico's other top cities are on the West Coast and in Washington, D.C., while Paxton's are in Florida, Nevada and Arizona.
| City | Total | Gifts | Avg. gift |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York City, N.Y. | $3.11M | 53,003 | $59 |
| Los Angeles, Calif. | $1.3M | 26,835 | $49 |
| Seattle, Wash. | $1.22M | 22,905 | $53 |
| San Francisco, Calif. | $1.18M | 18,166 | $65 |
| Washington, D.C. | $1.14M | 14,550 | $79 |
| City | Total | Gifts | Avg. gift |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York City, N.Y. | $177k | 1,123 | $158 |
| Las Vegas, Nev. | $55.8k | 655 | $85 |
| Naples, Fla. | $52.9k | 569 | $93 |
| Miami Beach, Fla. | $47.4k | 67 | $708 |
| Phoenix, Ariz. | $45.9k | 552 | $83 |