Politics
Talarico ad targets Musk's spending in Texas Senate race
The Talarico campaign's X ad criticizes Musk's spending for Republican Ken Paxton as recent polls show a narrow Talarico lead.
The short version
- Talarico's campaign released a video ad on X targeting Elon Musk's spending supporting Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race.[CNBC]
- CNBC estimates Musk has spent about $366 million across 40 midterm races, while WIRED's FEC analysis puts his Republican giving above $445 million.[Wired · CNBC]
- Musk criticized Talarico on X, while polls show Talarico narrowly ahead of Paxton, and one lead falls within the margin of error.[Wired · CNBC]
Key facts
- Talarico's campaign posted a video ad on X on Thursday criticizing Musk's spending supporting Republican nominee Ken Paxton.[CNBC]
- CNBC calculated that Musk has spent about $366 million across 40 midterm races this cycle.[CNBC]
- WIRED's analysis of FEC filings found Musk has given more than $445 million to Republican political groups this cycle.[Wired]
- Musk criticized Talarico in an X post on Wednesday.[Wired · CNBC]
- An average of polls aggregated by FiftyPlusOne showed Talarico with a three-point advantage over Paxton as of Oct. 23.[CNBC]
- An Emerson College poll of 1,000 likely Texas voters, conducted Oct. 17 to 19, found Talarico at 48 percent and Paxton at 46 percent, within a 3-point margin of error.[Wired]
What remains uncertain
- The spending totals are outside calculations rather than official figures; CNBC's number is its own estimate and WIRED's is its own analysis of FEC filings.[Wired · CNBC]
- Talarico's poll lead is narrow, and the Emerson result falls within its margin of error, so his advantage is not settled.[Wired · CNBC]
Sources
Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.