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James Talarico fires back at Elon Musk over PAC spending in Texas race

politicsOct 28, 202658553

James Talarico publicly rebuked Elon Musk after Musk posted that “There is something deeply wrong with Talarico” and news surfaced that Musk donated $158 million in September to the Republican Senate Leadership Fund. That $158 million was routed in part to Texas PAC, which is backing GOP nominee Ken Paxton, and Musk also gave $10 million to Lone Star Liberty PAC, another Paxton-aligned group. Speaking at the University of Houston, Talarico said attack ads, mailers and text messages voters have seen came from Musk and accused Musk of trying to “buy Texas,” saying “Texas is not for sale.” Talarico’s campaign reported raising $64 million in the third quarter, the largest third-quarter haul ever for a Senate candidate, while Paxton raised $18 million in the same period. CNBC reported Musk made the large donations as polls showed Paxton trailing Talarico. The spat crystallizes outside billionaire spending as a central issue in the race and sets the stage for intensified advertising and messaging battles ahead of the November 3 election.

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