MAGA Inc., 
Donald Trump's super PAC, is spending $10 million on television and digital advertisements in the Texas Senate race, a Saturday filing with the Federal Election Commission shows. The outlay is the group's first significant spending in a premier general election contest and reflects how a once-safe Republican seat in Texas may be viable for Democrats with the candidacy of James Talarico, a 37-year-old state representative, the Associated Press reported in a dispatch published by PBS NewsHour. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the Republican nominee, and Trump's endorsement helped him defeat the incumbent, Sen. John Cornyn, in a May primary runoff.
What do the ads say? The ads seek to highlight taxes as a dominant issue at a time when many voters have expressed concerns about continued inflation, the AP reported. Talarico has favored higher taxes on wealthier households, and the two ads seek to portray him as seeking tax hikes more broadly while claiming that Paxton would give tax breaks to first-time homebuyers and families with children. "High Tax Talarico wants to take money out of Texans' pockets. MAGA Inc. is going to ensure Texas knows about Talarico's radical policies and elects Ken Paxton to the U.S. Senate," Alex Pfeiffer, a spokesman for MAGA Inc., said in a statement Saturday. Talarico campaign spokesperson JT Ennis pushed back against the ads' claims, saying "billionaire-backed dark money groups are lying about James Talarico" and that Talarico "has consistently voted to cut taxes for working Texans."
How is Trump involved? MAGA Inc. has at least $400 million in campaign funds that Republican candidates have been waiting for the president to deploy, the AP reported. "I'm going to spend whatever amount of money necessary to try and help us," Trump told reporters on Friday. "This is my money," he said, adding that it was "separate" from funds controlled by the Republican National Committee, and he said he could hold some of the funds until the 2028 elections "if that's what I want." Trump backed Paxton despite the Texas politician's public scandals, and on Wednesday, at a White House event on the midterm elections, he said that "you might not love his television interviews, but he was the best attorney general in the country, perhaps."
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
