Hotly contested primaries on both sides of the aisle have created an onslaught of outside spending in the Texas Senate primary.
A costly Republican showdown, energized Democrats, heavy outside money and the state’s big media markets have driven high advertising costs.U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is seeking reelection to a fifth six-year term.
He faces primary challenges from U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.AUSTIN — All those political ads crowding your TV screens have turned the Texas Senate primary into the most expensive in U.S. history, topping $110 million in spending. Why so high? A bruising Senate showdown among both Republicans and Democrats, a flood of outside money hitting Texas at one time and the price of buying airtime in the state’s large media markets and keeping it there. “We ain’t seen nothing yet,” said Plano political consultant Vinny Minchillo, predicting a surge of spending in advance of the March 3 primary. “It costs a lot of money to run a race here.” The burst in ad spending is being driven largely by Republicans and their allies. Sen. John Cornyn faces the toughest test of his career, challenged by Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston.The Democrats – U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas and state Rep. James Talarico of Austin – also have ramped up, hoping an expensive and combative Republican primary creates an opening to break the party’s three-decade statewide losing streak. Texas Senate spending has surpassed the 2022 Arizona Senate primary’s advertising tally, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact. Texas’ $110.5 million total so far covers advertising only, not staff, travel or events.AdImpact said 70% of the funding has come from outside groups, including super PACs. That’s stirring complaints from less-funded campaigns.Advertising for Cornyn has dwarfed his rivals. As an incumbent, he can use a joint fundraising committee that allows larger contributions, a move Paxton has criticized as unfair. “They have unlimited fundraising,” Paxton told conservative radio host Mark Davis in January. “It’s not a fair fight.” Cornyn campaign spokesman Matt Mackowiak dismissed Paxton’s complaint as “whining,” saying donors have turned away from him because of his “professional failures and indefensible personal conduct.”Hunt has spent the least among the top GOP contenders, though an allied group backed by undisclosed donors is advertising on his behalf.Crockett on Monday accused Talarico of being “bankrolled” by the “billionaires and Epstein class,” citing more than $6 million raised by the pro-Talarico super PAC Lone Star Rising. The group received $3.75 million from a PAC funded largely by undisclosed donors and $500,000 from tech billionaire Reid Hoffman, whoTalarico’s campaign said super PAC spending is beyond his control and that he supports banning super PACs. His campaign spokesman noted that Hoffman has donated to multiple Democratic candidates nationwide.Crockett has raised more than $8.5 million, including about $4.9 million transferred from her congressional campaign account. A pro-Crockett PAC has spent roughly $1 million on advertising.Philip Jankowski has covered government, politics and criminal justice in Texas for 17 years. He previously worked for the Austin American-Statesman, the Killeen Daily Herald and the Taylor Press. Philip is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.Plano council votes to cancel election to leave DART after agreeing to compromise
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