Talarico Targets Musk as Texas Early Voting Hits Historic Highs

Speaking to supporters in Denton, Talarico highlighted financial disclosures revealing that the SpaceX CEO has funneled at least $158 million into Paxton’s campaign. Talarico characterized the influx of capital as an attempt to install a personal surrogate in the U.S. Senate, claiming that the barrage of television ads, mailers, and text messages attacking his record are directly financed by Musk. He contrasted this reliance on a single mega-donor with his own campaign, which claims support from over 1.3 million individual contributors.

The political firestorm coincides with a massive turnout in Harris County, the state's Democratic stronghold. Reports indicate that nearly 105,000 ballots were cast on the first day of early voting, easily eclipsing the 63,000 votes recorded during the 2018 midterms. That year, Beto O'Rourke narrowed the gap against incumbent Senator Ted Cruz to just 2.5 percentage points. With polling aggregates from Nate Silver currently showing Talarico with a slim lead, both camps are bracing for a high-stakes finish to the race.