Overview
- Early voting began Oct. 19 and the contest remains a toss‑up with James Talarico holding a narrow, within‑margin polling edge.
- Elon Musk has poured unusually large sums into pro‑Paxton independent groups, giving Republican outside spending an outsized presence on the airwaves and making billionaire influence a central campaign issue.
- Ken Paxton is running an 18‑day “Come and Take It” bus tour backed by a 27‑pastor coalition that seeks to turn out evangelical voters with culture and economic arguments.
- James Talarico has deployed faith‑inflected messaging, celebrity ads tied to his “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts” tour, and public guidance to allied super PACs that led Lone Star Rising to highlight anti‑Paxton Republicans.
- More than $500 million has been spent on TV ads in the race, and campaign events, surprise cross‑party endorsements and ground operations during early voting will likely determine whether Texas flips and how Senate control is affected.