WASHINGTON — After weeks of speculation over whether President Donald Trump would commit major campaign resources to Texas, MAGA Inc., the main pro-Trump super PAC, has made a $10 million ad buy in the Texas Senate race.

The purchase, which will go to television streaming and digital advertising, is MAGA Inc.’s first general-election expenditure. It underscores both the importance of the Texas Senate contest to Trump’s political operation and the competitiveness of the race.

Half of the $10 million tranche will be used for positive advertising for Republican Ken Paxton, an ally of the president, while the other half will fund negative messaging against Democrat James Talarico. The spending was disclosed in an FEC filing Saturday afternoon. The seat is open because incumbent Sen. John Cornyn lost the Republican primary runoff to Paxton, making Texas one of the few Senate races this cycle where Republicans are defending an open seat in a state they have long carried.

MAGA Inc.’s move follows another major Republican-aligned player entering the race: Texas-based billionaire Elon Musk. Musk’s America PAC has spent $1.4 million against Talarico so far, on digital media and printing.

The new investment comes as Republicans have publicly and privately urged Trump to become more involved in Texas, where polls have shown Talarico with a narrow average lead and where the Democrat has significantly outraised Paxton and outspent Republicans over the summer. In the second quarter, Talarico raised more than $30 million, while Paxton brought in over $9 million.

Several political analysts rate the contest as a toss-up, an uncommon situation in Texas, where Democrats have not won a statewide race in more than three decades.

“High Tax Talarico wants to take money out of Texans’ pockets,” MAGA Inc. spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer wrote on X. “MAGA Inc. is going to ensure Texas knows about Talarico’s radical policies and elects Ken Paxton to the U.S. Senate.”

MAGA Inc. released two 30-second ads centered on tax policy. The spots promote Paxton’s economic plan, which focuses on tax breaks for healthcare and housing expenses for individuals, and attack Talarico on property taxes and tax increases. The ads also cite Talarico’s vote against a bill that would require cities and counties to hold an election if they wanted to raise property tax revenue by more than 3.5%.

“‘Talarico? Higher taxes,’ the ad says. ‘Paxton? Lower taxes. A clear choice.’”

Talarico’s economic plan includes raising taxes on corporations and billionaires and expanding tax credits for parents and lower-income workers.

A spokesperson for Talarico said the ads are misleading about the Democrat’s record on taxes.

“Billionaire-backed dark money groups are lying about James Talarico because they’re scared of the people-powered movement we’re building to fix this broken, corrupt political system,” Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis said. “James was proud to vote for the largest property tax cut in Texas history and has consistently voted to cut taxes for working Texans.”

Despite placing reservations in nearly every other competitive Senate race, the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, has not spent money in Texas in the general election. Thune acknowledged the state’s high cost — Texas has 20 media markets and is far more expensive for campaigns and PACs to buy statewide airtime than states such as Michigan and Iowa with fewer media markets — and urged Trump to spend in Texas during an interview on Fox earlier this week.

“All of our allies out there, including the president and his team and their resources, need to be brought to bear on Texas, because it’s not one that we can lose if we’re going to hang on to a Republican majority,” Thune said. “We flat have to win there.”

In an interview last weekend on Fox, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said Senate Republicans “don’t have the money budgeted for Texas,” adding, “I’m hoping that the president’s going to spend $100 or $200 million in Texas.”

With just over six weeks left before early voting begins, more Texas spending from MAGA Inc. could follow. The group had more than $400 million in its coffers at last count. Trump told reporters Friday that he had close to $1 billion under his control across various PACs and nonprofits, and that he expected to spend $400 million to $500 million on the midterms.

Ad rates vary, but Thune estimated that statewide television advertising costs about $8 million per week in Texas alone.

Campaign funds also go further than PAC money on broadcast television and radio because candidates receive discounted station rates, meaning each dollar Talarico spends in those media buys more airtime than a GOP PAC would receive. MAGA Inc.’s new buy, however, is for connected television, such as streaming on a smart TV or phone, and digital advertising, where campaigns and PACs compete on equal terms.

So far, Talarico’s campaign has spent $40.1 million on general-election advertising, according to AdImpact. Paxton’s campaign has spent little on television so far, logging about $264,000 in ad spending, most of it on digital platforms.

Paxton defeated Sen. John Cornyn, a historically stronger fundraiser and the choice of Senate Republicans, earlier this year in a primary runoff. Trump backed Paxton after weighing in a week before the runoff election, and has repeatedly praised Paxton as the best attorney general in the country and for his loyalty over the years. Paxton, who has served as Texas attorney general since 2015, built a national profile in that role through lawsuits challenging federal policies under the Biden administration.

Paxton highlighted the tax contrast with Talarico while sharing the ad and thanking Trump, saying “together we will win for Texas and America.”

Talarico spent much of the summer outspending Paxton’s allies on the airwaves, introducing himself to voters with positive advertising before turning negative in a television ad in late August that criticized Paxton over corruption allegations.

Before MAGA Inc. entered the race, Paxton had already received air support from Lone Star Liberty PAC, the main pro-Paxton PAC, which has spent $18.9 million on the general election so far; a super PAC that supports Republican Sen. Ted Cruz; a dark money group called Preserve Texas Inc.; and an outside group funded by West Texas billionaire Tim Dunn.

As of now — before MAGA Inc.’s ads begin running — Democrats have spent $41.7 million, nearly all from Talarico, compared with $24.3 million from Republicans in the Texas Senate race.

By November, spending in the race could set a Texas record. Cruz has estimated total spending could reach $200 million. In his 2024 race against Democrat Colin Allred, which he won by 8.5 percentage points, AdImpact tracked $202 million in general-election ad spending.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.