What the money tells us about 2026 races in Texas – San Antonio Report

What the money tells us about 2026 races in Texas  San Antonio Report

Democrats are now spending in once unthinkable places, like Texas’ U.S. Senate contest, while Republicans are shoring up should-be-safe seats. A month out from the Nov. 3 midterm election, Democrats are expanding their map of targets as poll after poll breaks their way, while Republicans are scrambling to shore up should-be-safe races. Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico has been outraising Republican Ken Paxton, and the GOP is now canceling ads in swing states to help shore up their candidate in a race they can’t afford to lose. “This is a must-hold for Republicans if you’re looking at any chance that they maintain control of the Senate, so they have to spend here,” said San Antonio Republican strategist Kelton Morgan.

The GOP has a three-seat majority in the 100-member U.S. Senate, which has been growing tougher to protect as some races in red states now appear in potential danger. They hoped to put Texas away earlier this year by spending millions promoting U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in the primary, but he lost by 28 points to a candidate they’re now having to rescue. “But if it was Cornyn, they wouldn’t have to dump a quarter of a billion dollars into Texas to drag him across the line,” Morgan said. “They could still be competitive in North Carolina or somewhere