Talarico Announces Largest Single-Day Fundraising Haul in the Wake of Paxton’s Primary Victory

The Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Texas, state representative James Talarico, raised $3 million in the 24 hours after state attorney general Ken Paxton beat Senator John Cornyn in this year’s GOP primary. It is the largest single-day fundraising haul of Mr. Talarico’s campaign. Mr. Paxton won a blowout victory over Mr. Cornyn on Tuesday thanks, in part, to President Trump’s endorsement and Mr. Cornyn’s long record of bipartisan work on everything from gun control to immigration. Republicans have expressed deep concern about Mr. Paxton’s ability to raise money due to a series of ethics scandals, including an indictment on securities fraud charges, allegations of infidelity, and claims that he accepted bribes while in office. Mr. Talarico won his primary during the first round of voting in March when he received an outright majority of the vote. On Wednesday, Mr. Talarico said Texas voters are fired up for his campaign because Mr. Paxton “embodies” a “corrupt political system.”“Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in America, and Texans are uniting behind our campaign to defeat him and the broken, corrupt political system he embodies,” Mr. Talarico said in a statement Wednesday. “In just 24 hours, working people from every corner of Texas have come together to shatter grassroots fundraising records and send a message that Texas deserves better than corrupt Ken Paxton. Together, we’re going to unrig our economy, raise our pay, and drive down the cost of gas, groceries, housing, and healthcare,” he added. Mr. Talarico’s fundraising prowess was a major clarion call by Mr. Cornyn during the primary. Mr. Cornyn warned that Mr. Paxton did not have the ability to raise the money necessary to keep the Texas Senate seat in Republican hands. Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters after Mr. Trump endorsed Mr. Paxton that the GOP will likely now have to spend three times as much money in the Lone Star State to hold on to the seat. Mr. Paxton’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his own fundraising totals since winning his primary. According to the most recent FEC records, Mr. Paxton has only raised $7.6 million for his campaign in the last year and now enters the general election with $2.3 million in his war chest. Mr. Talarico, meanwhile, has raised a staggering $40 million over the course of his campaign. He has $9.8 million in his campaign account, according to the most recent filings. Mr. Talarico’s one-day fundraising total is on par with other top-tier Democratic recruits in this year’s Senate elections. A former lawmaker, Senator Sherrod Brown, raised $3.6 million on the first day of his campaign. The former governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, raised $3.4 million in the 24 hours that followed his announcement. The leading Democratic Senate candidate in Alaska, Congresswoman Mary Peltola, raised $1.5 million. All of these fundraising totals came from individuals, all of whom are only allowed to donate a maximum of $3,500 per election cycle. The Senate minority leader, Senator Chuck Schumer, has expressed a real interest in the Texas Senate race, especially in the wake of Mr. Trump’s endorsement of Mr. Paxton. Mr. Schumer does not see the Texas race as a must-win contest for his party, unlike Republicans who believe they have to hold on to the seat. Mr. Schumer has said his path to the majority runs through four states with less expensive media markets — Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, and Alaska — so it is unclear how much money outside spending groups are prepared to spend for Mr. Talarico. As Democrats hammer Mr. Paxton for past scandals, Republicans are testing out a new message to attack Mr. Talarico — that he is too woke for Texas. The GOP is now hammering him for past comments about God being nonbinary, that there are six sexes, and that the American flag is a “complicated symbol” for many people. On Wednesday, he distanced himself from those comments, telling CBS News that those comments “missed the mark.”“I’ll be the first to admit that, but Ken Paxton is intentionally clipping my cringey comments to distract from his career of corruption,” Mr. Talarico said. According to polling, Mr. Paxton starts the general election at a disadvantage. Poll aggregators show Mr. Talarico currently leads Mr. Paxton by anywhere from 1.5 points to 4.3 points in a state that has not had a Democratic senator since 1993.

Talarico Announces Largest Single-Day Fundraising Haul in the Wake of Paxton’s Primary Victory

Talarico Announces Largest Single-Day Fundraising Haul in the Wake of Paxton’s Primary Victory

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