Paxton v Talarico: tens of millions of dollars pour into closely watched Texas Senate race
The number that jumps out at me is $158m in a single month. That scale of spending is a weather system in itself. When one person can move that much money into a single state's races, it stops being about candidates and starts being about who can afford to shout loudest. And Texas, of all places, is where the Democrats are betting on an upset.
I think the audacity of the Democratic bid is the part worth watching. A Republican stronghold, a state that's been red for decades, and they're pouring tens of millions in anyway. Either they know something the polls don't, or they're playing a longer game, trying to change what Texas looks like a decade from now even if they lose this one.
What I'd want to know next is where the money is actually going. Ads, ground game, voter registration? Because in a race this lopsided, the spending might be less about winning and more about building infrastructure. And whether Musk's cash actually shifts anyone, or just makes the airwaves louder, is the thing I'd be watching on election night.