Candidates in the U.S. Senate race in Texas are raking in big cash.
With the May 26 Republican primary runoff just over a month away, incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton are boosting their war chests in hopes of advancing to the November General Election.
Cornyn announced a nearly $9 million haul during the first quarter of 2026, including $3.4 million raised since the March 3 primary election, with over $8 million in cash on hand.
“The Cornyn campaign continues performing at a high level, building off the overperformance in the March 3rd primary to announcing a massive fundraising haul in the first quarter of 2026,” said Cornyn re-election campaign manager Andy Hemming in a news release. “Our campaign works every day to execute our strategy to win the runoff on May 26. A disastrous nominee like Ken Paxton risks our strong Texas House majority and numerous congressional seats. Sen. Cornyn is our strongest nominee, he is one of President (Donald) Trump’s most effective legislative partners, and our voters will fully understand the choice in this runoff election over the next seven weeks.”
By comparison, Paxton’s campaign lagged Cornyn significantly, announcing nearly $2.2 million in fundraising dollars in the first quarter with $2.6 million on hand. The cash deficit, however, may not be the shortfall Cornyn supporters believe it is, as multiple post-primary polls show Paxton leading.
“The people of Texas are ready for change, and the strength of our movement is a testament to that,” Paxton said in a news release. “My campaign will be entering the May runoff in an even stronger financial position than we did in March, and we will continue to highlight John Cornyn’s record of failing Texans. Time after time, John betrayed the America First movement by undermining President Trump, pushing amnesty, and refusing to fight for the Save America Act. He’s an out-of-touch career politician (whose) career is rapidly coming to an end. This May, we will finish the job and fire him once and for all.”
James Talarico breaks fundraising records
State Rep. James Talarico, who has already secured his spot in the November General Election, announced a whopping $27 million raised during the first quarter of 2026, the largest amount ever raised by a U.S. Senate candidate in the first quarter of an election year.
Since launching his campaign in September 2025, Talarico has raised more than $40 million, with more than 970,000 donations from over 540,000 individual contributors from 246 of Texas’ 254 counties.
“Grassroots contributors from almost every county in Texas are sending Washington D.C. a clear message: they’re tired of this broken, corrupt political system and they’re ready to take back Texas for working people,” Talarico, D-Austin, said in a news release. “We’re bringing Democrats, Republicans, and Independents together to end billionaire control over our politics and bring down costs for families across our state.”
97% of contributions to Talarico’s campaign were $100 or less. While a wide array of workers backed Talarico, the most common profession among his donors was teachers.
“Winning in Texas will require unprecedented resources,” Talarico for Texas Campaign Manager Seth Krasne said in the release. “This grassroots fundraising haul puts our movement in a strong position to spread our message in some of the most expensive media markets in the country.”
Talarico will face the winner of the May 26 Republican primary runoff in November.
Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Talarico shatters fundraising records in Texas Senate race
Reporting by Adam Powell, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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