Talarico Breaks Fundraising Record With Largest-Ever Third-Quarter Haul, Raking in $64 Million

The Democratic nominee for this year’s Senate race in Texas, state representative James Talarico, raised $64 million for his campaign in the third quarter, his campaign says. That is more than triple what his Republican opponent raised in that same period, and sets a new record for the most amount of money raised by a Senate candidate in the third quarter of a campaign. Mr. Talarico has been leading the Republican nominee, state attorney general Ken Paxton, in the polls for months. Mr. Paxton knocked off Senator John Cornyn — a prolific fundraiser — in the GOP primary earlier this year and has struggled to keep pace with Mr. Talarico on the money front. Mr. Talarico has raised more than $134 million for his campaign since he launched last year, while Mr. Paxton has only raised about $30 million. Mr. Paxton’s campaign raised only $18 million between the end of June and the end of September, according to the Paxton campaign — far less than a third of what Mr. Talarico raised. “Grassroots contributors from across Texas are coming together to end billionaire control over our politics and bring down costs for working families,” Talarico said. “Thanks to the support of everyday Texans, this people-powered movement is going to change this broken, corrupt political system.”National Republicans have had to bail out Mr. Paxton at the expense of other vulnerable Republicans. GOP groups, including House committees, super PACs, and even President Trump’s own political operation have started triaging money in House districts and Senate races alike. One super PAC is now having to spend $5 million in deep-red South Carolina to save Senator Darline Graham — the sister of Senator Lindsey Graham who was appointed to serve out the remainder of his term — now that she is in a surprisingly close general election. At the beginning of the second Trump administration, many Democrats believed the only two Senate seats which they might even have a chance of flipping were in North Carolina and Maine. Now, both Democrats and Republicans have pulled out of North Carolina given the commanding lead currently held by the Democratic candidate, the popular former governor, Roy Cooper. Senator Susan Collins has kept the Maine race exceptionally competitive given the national political climate, though she still trails the Democratic candidate, Troy Jackson, by about two points in polling averages.Democrats have expanded their offensive map to several additional states that Mr. Trump carried by double digits in 2024 — Ohio, Alaska, Iowa, and Kansas. One independent, Dan Osborn, is narrowly trailing the railing incumbent lawmaker in Nebraska, Senator Pete Ricketts. Mr. Osborn has promised to caucus with neither party if he is elected to the Senate. Mr. Osborn lost the 2024 Senate race in Nebraska by less than seven points with no Democratic candidate on the ballot. Nebraska Democrats have declined to put up a candidate in another effort to give Mr. Osborn another shot at winning. Republicans are playing aggressively in two states Democrats are hoping to keep in their column — Michigan and New Hampshire. In Michigan, the Democrat, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, is narrowly leading the GOP candidate, Mike Rogers, who has been plastering the state with ads about Dr. El-Sayed’s extremely progressive policy platform, which includes establishing a universal healthcare program and placing an arms embargo on Israel. Mr. Rogers is also running a flurry of ads about Dr. El-Sayed’s ties to Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who once said he believed America “deserved” the September 11 attacks. The Senate Leadership Fund — the Senate GOP’s super PAC — has already committed more than $51 million to supporting Mr. Rogers. The New Hampshire Senate race has moved back toward Democrats after the Republican candidate, John Sununu, made polling gains over the summer. The Democratic nominee, Congressman Chris Pappas, has been consistently leading Mr. Sununu in the polls by anywhere from five to seven points.

Talarico Breaks Fundraising Record With Largest-Ever Third-Quarter Haul, Raking in $64 Million

Talarico Breaks Fundraising Record With Largest-Ever Third-Quarter Haul, Raking in $64 Million

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