Talarico reports $64 million quarter in Senate race, more than three times Paxton's $18 million

Democrat James Talarico raised $64 million for his U.S. Senate campaign from July through September, his campaign announced, more than triple the $18 million Republican Ken Paxton brought in over the same three months, The Texas Tribune reported.

The Tribune said the Talarico total is the largest third-quarter haul on record for a Senate candidate in any state. For Paxton, the Texas attorney general, the $18 million was by far his best quarter of the race, according to the Tribune.

Talarico, a state representative from Austin, says he has raised more than $134 million since starting his campaign a little over a year ago. His campaign said 97% of the donations it received in the quarter were under $100.

"Grassroots contributors from across Texas are coming together to end billionaire control over our politics and bring down costs for working families," Talarico said in a statement quoted by the Tribune.

The Tribune's report did not include a response from the Paxton campaign.

How it compares

The total far outpaces past Texas Democrats who were also strong fundraisers. The Tribune noted that Colin Allred raised $30 million in the third quarter of 2024 and Beto O'Rourke raised $38 million in the same stretch of 2018.

The Tribune reported that Talarico's money has helped his campaign withstand heavy spending by Republican outside groups on advertising this fall.

What is still to come

Talarico's campaign did not say how much cash it had left at the end of September. That figure will appear in the campaign finance report due to the Federal Election Commission by midnight Thursday, according to the Tribune.

Those reports, which also cover spending, will give the first full picture of where each campaign stands with less than three weeks until the Nov. 3 general election.

Sources

The Texas Tribune