WASHINGTON — The Senate Leadership Fund is upping its ad buy in Texas to $100 million, crossing the nine-figure threshold in spending to support Ken Paxton in a state Republicans have not lost in over 30 years.

SLF, the main outside group affiliated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, has already spent nearly $70 million on advertising in the race. But the group, through connected entity Texas PAC, will book an additional $30 million in ads to bring its total spend to the $100 million mark, according to a person familiar with the group granted anonymity to discuss spending plans.

The figure is a remarkable sum for Texas, a state Senate Republicans have rarely had to worry about in past cycles, in a year in which the GOP is defending a broad map of seats. The group has spent hundreds of millions across eight other states with high-profile Senate races, including more traditionally competitive states like Georgia and Maine.

Texas, with 20 media markets, is among the most expensive states in the country for political campaigns.

Paxton is locked in a highly competitive race with Democrat James Talarico, an Austin state representative. Polls have shown a margin-of-error race between the two, but Talarico leads in the polling average and has led in every public poll of the race conducted this month — a highly unusual sight in Texas.

Thune and SLF had supported Sen. John Cornyn in the primary, making the argument that the senior senator, a strong fundraiser with a history of outrunning fellow Republicans, would be a safer candidate who would cost the GOP apparatus less money. Paxton challenged Cornyn for the GOP nomination in 2025, and after the two ran a close race in the March 3 primary — in which SLF spent millions boosting Cornyn — Paxton cruised to victory in the May 28 runoff by 28 percentage points.

During the primary, Thune discussed the group’s support of Cornyn as a “business decision” that would allow the party to deploy resources to states like Michigan and North Carolina instead of Texas. Punchbowl News reported in 2025 that SLF estimated that a Paxton candidacy would cost $200 million to $250 million in order to keep the seat in Republican hands.

With the group’s commitment of $100 million, total Republican spending in the general election has reached over $140 million, with six weeks to go until the November election. That includes over $19 million thus far from Lone Star Liberty PAC, a super PAC supporting Paxton, and over $16 million from MAGA Inc., the well-heeled group connected to President Donald Trump’s political operation.

Talarico, meanwhile, has thus far been largely on his own for advertising. The Democrat has proven a strong fundraiser, hauling in $30 million between April and June of this year, and used his financial advantage to dominate the airwaves over the summer.

But the massive investment from SLF has flipped the script. In the month of September, Texas PAC alone has spent nearly $66 million to Talarico’s approximately $22 million, with other Republican groups bringing the GOP’s spending total to about $103 million this month.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Senate Majority PAC, the main Senate Democratic PAC aligned with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have not committed any advertising funds to Texas.

Talarico has received about $3 million in outside support in September from Lone Star Rising PAC, the main super PAC backing him.

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