The hotly contested Texas Senate race is setting spending records ahead of Tuesday's primary

Source: AP

By JOHN HANNA
Updated 12:17 PM CST, February 25, 2026

Candidates and political groups are pouring money into Texas’ hotly contested U.S. Senate race at a record pace, partly fueled by Democrat James Talarico’s fundraising and allies of Republican Sen. John Cornyn trying to save his long career.

Heading into Tuesday’s primary elections, the cost of advertising and reserved advertising time had topped $110 million, the most ever for a Senate primary, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. The heavy spending in Texas is a preview of the money that is expected to flood this year’s midterm elections across the U.S. with control of Congress at stake.

Talarico faces U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett for the Democratic nomination and on Wednesday launched his final television ad before the primary. It attacks the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics, describing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as “secret police.”

Talarico reported raising more than $21 million through last week. Crockett has raised nearly $8.6 million, though the majority was transferred from her House campaign account after she entered the race in December, three months after Talarico.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/senate-texas-talarico-crockett-cornyn-paxton-e41d41fd66a43bf638b69f702e77faa3