The political group tied to U.S. President Donald Trump reported spending $10 million on television and digital advertising in the Texas Senate race, according to a Federal Election Commission filing submitted on Saturday. It is the group’s first major outlay in a top general election contest this cycle.
The spending by MAGA, Inc. reflects concern that a long-safe Republican seat in Texas could become competitive. Democratic candidate James Talarico, a 37-year-old state representative, is challenging Republican nominee Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general.
Paxton secured the nomination in a May primary runoff, defeating incumbent Senator John Cornyn. Trump’s endorsement aided that victory. The group holds at least $400 million in campaign funds that Republican candidates have waited for the president to deploy.
The two advertisements center on taxation. They portray Talarico as favoring broad tax increases, while claiming Paxton would deliver tax breaks to first-time homebuyers and families with children. Talarico has backed higher taxes on wealthier households.
The messaging arrives as many voters report concern over continued inflation. Legislation Trump signed into law last year extended many expiring tax breaks from his 2017 overhaul, but also increased budget deficits, contributing to higher interest rates on the national debt.
Trump has separately raised tariffs, which are taxes on imports, in an effort to increase federal revenue. Public disapproval over the economy and the Iran war has weighed on many Republican candidates heading into the vote.
Voters historically move against the party controlling the White House in midterm elections. Democrats are seeking to win both the House and Senate, and treat Texas as a symbolic measure of whether the electoral map is widening this year. The broader contest follows earlier fiscal disputes in Washington, including a stopgap measure passed to avert a government shutdown.
The Texas Senate seat has not elected a Democrat statewide in decades. The advertising campaign begins ahead of the November general election.