TEXAS PAC (a super political action committee, or Super PAC) filed a spending notice with the FEC (the Federal Election Commission) on 30 September covering $61,413,929.82 in nine lines, FEC file 20157641. Such a notice falls due within two days of spending above the reporting threshold. A Super PAC may raise and spend without limit but may not coordinate with a candidate, and TEXAS PAC is spending in the Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico.
Its two largest lines, both paid to Flexpoint Media and dated 24 September, were $28.26 million opposing Talarico and $27.94 million supporting Paxton. The committee's race total is now $131,529,652.10, up from $69.32 million as of 21 September, which means it nearly doubled in nine days. Its first periodic report, due on 15 October, must name the donors behind it.
MAGA Inc (Make America Great Again Inc), Donald Trump's main Super PAC, filed $5 million of streaming television advertising against Talarico on 26 September. Republican-side outside money in filings since 24 September runs about $71.4 million to $9.6 million, roughly 7.4 to 1. The Democratic side is led by Lone Star Rising PAC's $7.21 million against Paxton, about an eighth of TEXAS PAC's single report.
Cook Political Report moved the Texas governor's race, Republican Greg Abbott against Democrat Gina Hinojosa, from Likely to Lean Republican on 1 October, a week after Sabato's Crystal Ball made the same move2. Both raters now put Abbott's seat one step from Toss-up. In the same note Cook wrote that Democrats could win a majority of governorships for the first time since 2010.
