Republicans brace for money problems in Texas after Ken Paxton’s win

2026 ElectionRepublicans brace for money problems in Texas after Ken Paxton’s winPaxton has trailed Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in fundraising, and some Republicans say the party will have to spend millions to win the Senate race.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GooglePaxton thanks Trump after Texas Senate primary win01:56Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 27, 2026, 9:13 PM EDTBy Bridget Bowman and Matt DixonPresident Donald Trump may be celebrating that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won Tuesday’s Senate primary, but some Republicans now worry that they have a Texas-sized problem on their hands. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Paxton, with Trump’s endorsement, handily defeated four-term Sen. John Cornyn in the runoff. Democrats largely viewed Paxton as the weaker candidate because of his many controversies. But his fundraising struggles are also raising alarm bells among Republicans. “Economically, it’s a disaster. Texas is extremely expensive,” said a GOP consultant working on Senate races, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about party resources. So far, Paxton’s fundraising has paled in comparison with that of the Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico, who has raised more than $40 million — though he spent most of it in a hotly contested primary. But Talarico is expected to raise millions more; he pulled in $600,000 in just two hours following Paxton’s win, according to Talarico’s campaign. The haul was first reported by Politico. Paxton has raised $7.6 million, and his campaign had $2.3 million left to spend as of May 6. The Paxton campaign did not respond to a request for comment. The consultant noted that the GOP groups will most likely have to quadruple their original spending for the race. Their contributions could reach $100 million, potentially pulling resources from other key battlegrounds as Republicans defen...