Washington DC

The Texas Senate contest has become the most expensive non-presidential race in American electoral history, with political advertising spending and reservations reaching a record USD 573 million, according to advertising intelligence firm AdImpact.

The record expenditure comes as Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico face off in a closely contested Senate race ahead of the November 3 US midterm elections, with recent polling indicating a lead for the Democratic candidate.

According to AdImpact, the Texas Senate race has recorded USD 165.7 million in primary advertising expenditure, followed by another USD 407.5 million in general election advertising spending and reservations.

Texas is only the second non-presidential race in US history to cross the USD 500 million mark in political advertising, following the 2024 Ohio Senate contest, which recorded USD 542.7 million. This year's Ohio Senate race has also crossed the threshold, with USD 514.3 million in advertising spending.

AdImpact noted that the 2025-2026 election cycle is the first in which two non-presidential races have exceeded USD 500 million in political advertising.

Breaking down the general election expenditure, AdImpact said Republican advertisers have outspent their Democratic counterparts by USD 140.7 million, with total advertising spending and reservations standing at USD 407.5 million.

The figure is more than double the USD 202.2 million spent during the 2024 Texas Senate general election between Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Colin Allred, when Democratic advertisers held a USD 34.1 million spending advantage, as per AdImpact.

According to the advertising intelligence firm, Democratic candidate James Talarico and other Democratic advertisers dominated the advertising space until mid-August, spending USD 21.4 million compared with just USD 2.5 million by Republicans.

However, Republican advertising activity increased sharply in the following weeks. From the week of August 25 through election week, Republicans outspent Democrats by an average of USD 15.3 million per week.

During the week of September 15 alone, Republican advertisers spent USD 29.2 million more than Democratic advertisers.

The surge was driven largely by significant investments from Republican-aligned outside groups, AdImpact said.

Republican outside groups accounted for a significant share of the advertising expenditure, with Senate Leadership Fund-aligned Texas PAC emerging as the biggest spender.

The group spent USD 182.1 million on advertisements supporting Paxton and attacking Talarico, making it the eighth-highest-spending advertiser in the current election cycle.

AdImpact said Paxton received USD 251.7 million in advertising support from outside groups, compared with USD 30.6 million for Talarico.

Among Democratic-aligned groups, Lone Star Rising PAC spent USD 14 million, while Texas Forever invested USD 7.8 million.

Despite the substantial Republican advertising expenditure, the latest New York Times/Siena University polls indicate that Democrat James Talarico is ahead of Republican Ken Paxton in Texas.

According to the final set of surveys conducted before the November 3 midterm elections, Talarico leads Paxton by 50 per cent to 43 per cent.

The poll findings place Texas among five Republican-held Senate battlegrounds where Democratic candidates are ahead. Democrats are also leading in Kansas, Maine, Ohio and Alaska, while the Iowa contest remains effectively tied.

The surveys additionally found Democrats leading in Michigan, where the party currently holds the Senate seat.

The New York Times/Siena survey of Texas included 1,215 voters.

Texas has not elected a Democrat to the US Senate since 1988, making the latest polling figures particularly significant for the party's efforts to regain control of the upper chamber.

The New York Times report noted that Democrats need to defend all the Senate seats they currently hold and flip at least four Republican-held seats to secure a majority. The task has traditionally been considered difficult because several of the seats they need to win are in Republican strongholds.

The latest polling also comes amid dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump and concerns over the economy and cost of living. Across the seven battleground states surveyed, Democrats held a nine-percentage-point advantage over Republicans on the cost of living, according to The New York Times/Siena polls.

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Meanwhile, the broader Texas midterm election campaign is expected to carry a substantial financial cost, with overall spending projected to reach USD 1 billion, including more than half of that amount directed towards the US Senate contest.