Candidate
Compared on: Elon Musk
THE CLAIM · OCT 24, 2026
“the richest man in the world is almost single-handedly bankrolling this effort to install Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate”
As reported by C-SPAN · Read the post
THE RECORD · OCT 14, 2026
“Elon Musk gave SLF PAC $75M on Sep 9 and $83M on Sep 23, 2026; SLF PAC gave Texas PAC $75M on Sep 10 and $83M on Sep 24, 2026.”
Federal Election Commission · FEC filing as filed: Texas PAC (C00960211), report 2038741, 2026-10-01 to... · Read
THE RECORD · OCT 14, 2026
“Texas PAC spent $181.6M for Ken Paxton or against James Talarico since May 26, 2026; 100% of its 2026 receipts trace to Elon Musk.”
Federal Election Commission · FEC filing as filed: Texas PAC (C00960211), report 2038741, 2026-10-01 to... · Read
THE RECORD · OCT 14, 2026
“America PAC spent $33.7M for Ken Paxton or against James Talarico since May 26, 2026; 100% of its 2025–26 receipts trace to Elon Musk.”
Federal Election Commission · FEC filing as filed: America PAC (C00879510), report 2038959, 2026-10-01 to... · Read
THE RECORD · OCT 14, 2026
“Lone Star Liberty PAC spent $11.7M for Ken Paxton or against James Talarico since May 26, 2026; 34% of its 2025–26 receipts trace to Elon Musk.”
Federal Election Commission · FEC filing as filed: Lone Star Liberty PAC (C00901223), report 2039240... · Read
THE RECORD · OCT 23, 2026
“Since the May 26, 2026 runoff, outside groups reported $287.4M in independent expenditures for Ken Paxton or against James Talarico through Oct 23, 2026 (largest: Texas PAC $181.6M, MAGA Inc. $37.6M, America PAC $33.7M).”
Federal Election Commission · FEC independent expenditures as filed, TX U.S. Senate race, since 2026-05-26 · Read
THE RECORD · OCT 23, 2026
“Since the May 26, 2026 runoff, outside groups reported $55.5M in independent expenditures for James Talarico or against Ken Paxton through Oct 23, 2026 (largest: Lone Star Rising PAC $20.3M, Texas Forever $10.9M, Lower Costs Now $9.6M).”
Federal Election Commission · FEC independent expenditures as filed, TX U.S. Senate race, since 2026-05-26 · Read
THE RECORD · OCT 14, 2026
“Ken Paxton for Senate, Ken Paxton's campaign, reported to the FEC $22.3M in receipts this cycle through Oct 14, 2026: $14.9M from named individual donors, $6.1M from individual donors giving $200 or less, with no names filed.”
Federal Election Commission · FEC totals, Ken Paxton for Senate (C00901918), 2025–2026 · Read
THE RECORD · OCT 14, 2026
“Talarico for Texas, James Talarico's campaign, reported to the FEC $146.3M in receipts this cycle through Oct 14, 2026: $64.5M from named individual donors, $75.3M from individual donors giving $200 or less, with no names filed.”
Federal Election Commission · FEC totals, Talarico for Texas (C00919084), 2025–2026 · Read
RECORD AGREES ON WHO PAYS
FEC filings trace 76% of the $287.4M outside groups spent for Ken Paxton or against James Talarico to Elon Musk. That counts money a committee passed on the day after Elon Musk gave it the same sum; FEC filings do not earmark it. By the same measure: FEC filings trace 30% of the $55.5M outside groups spent for Talarico or against Paxton since May 26 to its largest funder, SMP. For Paxton: Elon Musk, 76% of $287.4M. Share of campaign money with donor names filed, as reported to the FEC through Oct 14: Talarico 49% ($75.3M of $146.3M has no names filed), Paxton 73% ($6.1M of $22.3M). AB Foundation, AB PAC's top donor ($18.7M in 2025–26), is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit (IRS, EIN 27-5278038) that does not disclose its donors, so that money can't be traced past it. Democracy Matters, a donor to AB PAC ($14M in 2025–26), is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit (IRS, EIN 99-2900699) that does not disclose its donors, so that money can't be traced past it.
