Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico (D) announced his campaign raised more than $30 million during the second quarter of 2026, surpassing Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton's (R) fundraising total and bringing the campaign's overall fundraising to more than $70 million.
Campaign surpasses $70 million in fundraising.
State Rep. Talarico announced that his U.S. Senate campaign raised more than $30 million during the second quarter of 2026, a fundraising total that his campaign says is the largest ever reported by a U.S. Senate candidate during the second quarter of an election year.
Since launching his Senate campaign last September, Talarico's campaign says it has now raised more than $70 million from over 1.5 million donations, representing approximately 780,000 individual contributors.
Campaign officials also noted that 97% of contributions were $100 or less, highlighting the campaign's emphasis on grassroots fundraising. According to the campaign, supporters include teachers, farmers, ranchers, oil workers, nurses, firefighters, and other working Texans.
Paxton Campaign also reports record fundraising.
Attorney General Ken Paxton's campaign recently announced raising more than $9 million during the second quarter, describing it as a personal fundraising record and the largest amount reported by any non-incumbent Republican Senate candidate this election cycle.
Talarico highlights campaign support
Following the fundraising announcement, Talarico said the campaign is attracting support from Texans across political and economic backgrounds.
State Rep. James Talarico: "I'm honored to stand alongside more than 780,000 neighbors who are tired of being divided into teams--red versus blue, left versus right, rural versus urban."
State Rep. Talarico continued: "We are uniting Texans onto one team to change this broken, corrupt political system and bring down costs for working families."
Competitive Texas Senate race
The fundraising announcement comes as Democrats seek to win a Texas U.S. Senate seat for the first time since 1988. Recent public polling has shown a closely contested race between Talarico and Paxton, setting the state for one of the nation's most competitive Senate elections in 2026.
