U.S. Senate ads flood TV, web in Texas this election season. Who’s behind them?
Spending on advertisements in Texas’ U.S. Senate primary is in the tens of millions, as candidates and their supporters try to win over voters in the final stretch.
The historic cash flow precedes Election Day on March 3, when Republican primary voters will choose from among U.S. Rep. John Cornyn, the incumbent; Attorney General Ken Paxton, and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, the three leading candidates. Democrats will decide between leading Democratic candidates U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico.
Prospective voters are seeing their screens flooded with TV and digital ads, depicting everything from an AI-generated two-stepping Cornyn, footage of literal rhinos or an anime-like broadcast.
Campaigns and organizations supporting — or opposing — the Senate candidates are required to disclose some information in advertisements. But let’s be honest: The tiny “paid for by” disclosure at the bottom of your screen or a candidate’s declaration that they “approve this message” is only so informative.
Who’s behind the advertisements? Finding out involves a rabbit hole of campaign finance documents. Even then, dark money can make it hard to know much.
We break it down and highlight some of the groups and appeals in the Democratic and Republican primaries for U.S. Senate.
Cornyn and aligned groups spend big
More than $122 million has been spent on ads and reservations in Texas’ Senate primaries, making it the most expensive Senate primary on record, according to AdImpact, which tracks advertisement spending. Ads backing candidates and targeting opposing candidates have come from campaigns directly, as well as outside groups not affiliated with the candidates.
As of Friday, 73% of Republican primary ad spending — $69 million — was in support of Cornyn, who is working to win his fifth term, AdImpact reports.
Cornyn has his main campaign account, Texans for Senator John Cornyn, Inc., as well as two affiliated groups, The Cornyn Victory Committee and the Cornyn Lone Star Victory Fund. The groups are joint fundraising committees, which basically means they raise money together and split the proceeds.
The Cornyn Victory committee is composed of Cornyn’s campaign, the R Senate PAC, Texans for a Conservative Majority, the Alamo PAC, the Conservative Majority Project and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which works to elect Republicans to the Senate. The same groups form the Cornyn Lone Star Victory Fund, except for Texans for a Conservative Majority and the Conservative Majority Project.
But learning more about the groups requires a deeper dive.
R Senate PAC: This political action committee has been active since December 2014. Since January 2025 it has reported about $59,500 in contributions, much of which came from the Cornyn Victory Committee. Several other donations have been made in chunks of $5,000 from people like Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwartzman, a billionaire who supported President Donald Trump in 2024 after previously distancing himself from the president, capital investment billionaires Marc Lipschultz and Rob Granieri.
Texans for a Conservative Majority: This super PAC, created in 2013, has raised more than $23 million since the start of 2025. The political action committee is different from the similarly named Texans United for a Conservative Majority, supported by West Texas oil billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks. Texans for a Conservative Majority’s top contributors include John Nau III, the former chairman and CEO of Silver Eagle Distributors, a beverage distribution company, and Anthony Wood, the chairman and CEO of Roku. Ohio Works Inc. is also a high-dollar contributor.
Alamo PAC: The bulk of the Alamo PAC’s nearly $686,000 raised comes from the Cornyn Victory Committee. The political action committee was created in 2003.
Conservative Majority Project: Established in January 2024, the Conservative Majority Project super PAC has only reported about $2,300 in contributions since the start of 2025. The transfer was from the Cornyn Victory Committee.
National Republican Senatorial Committee: The NRSC is a national organization dedicated to “strengthening the Republican Senate Majority” and electing Republicans to the Senate. It’s chaired by Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina. Cornyn served as its chair from 2009 to 2013. It was founded in 1916, but reorganized and renamed in 1948. The group has advocated for Cornyn’s re-election this campaign cycle.
Cornyn Lonestar Victory Fund
The following ads are from the Cornyn Lonestar Victory Fund.
One ad boasts Cornyn as being “tough as nails” on illegal immigration. Another claims Hunt voted for Hillary Clinton and missed votes in Congress. Hunt has a portion of his website dedicated to “Cornyn Smears,” where Hunt says he voted for Clinton as part of Rush Limbaugh’s “Operation Chaos” in 2008 and that he missed votes. Hunt said he missed congressional votes because he was home caring for his family after his youngest child was born prematurely and was in the NICU. Another ad accuses Paxton of infidelity. The embattled Texas attorney general is getting divorced from Sen. Angela Paxton, a McKinney Republican. Paxton on Thursday released an ad featuring his daughter as she voices support for her father and highlights what he’s like as a grandfather.
“Unlike John Cornyn, who’s become a desperate shell of a man clinging to power, my campaign is not about attacking someone else’s family,” Paxton said in a post on X about his new ad.
Texans for a Conservative Majority
The following ad is from Texans for a Conservative Majority. It advertises Cornyn’s support for Trump.
Cornyn’s Campaign
Here are some of the more recent ads directly from Texans for Senator John Cornyn, Inc., Cornyn’s main campaign account.
One Nation and Lone Star Freedom Project
The nonprofit One Nation is among the outside groups spending big to back Cornyn, according to AdImpact. The group says it promotes “commonsense conservative policies for America” in its X biography. According to Axios, the group is tied to the Senate Leadership Fund, which works to elect Republicans.
“Out of many, one,” its website reads. “This was the Founders’ vision for America: a nation forged from different cultures, countries, creeds and classes — yet unified by a common commitment to freedom, democratic governance and guaranteed individual rights. We’re dedicated to pursuing that vision: helping to solve America’s great problems and seize America’s greater opportunities through persuasion, research and advocacy.”
This ad from the group thanks Cornyn for supporting Trump:
Lone Star Freedom Project, a nonprofit whose chairman is former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, is also one of the top spenders supporting Cornyn, according to AdImpact.
Hunt, Paxton ads in the Texas U.S. Senate Republican primary
According to AdImpact, about 20% of the ads in the Republican primary over the past two weeks have been attacking Hunt, who has generally polled third in the race. The election is widely expected to go to a runoff, given the number and competitiveness of the candidates on the March 3 ballot.
Hunt has received $12 million in ad support and Paxton has received $4.1 million, according to AdImpact.
Here are some of the groups whose ads you may have seen.
Lone Star Liberty PAC
The Lone Star Liberty PAC is a super PAC established in April 2025 that is working to get Paxton elected to the Senate. The group, which recently hosted get-out-the-vote rallies across the state featuring Paxton, has raised about $4.5 million since the start of 2025.
Top donors include Chelsey Milton, the wife of Trevor Milton, who founded the electric vehicle start-up Nikola. He was sentenced to prison for defrauding investors, but Trump pardoned him last year. Other top donors include Legacy Medical Consultants CEO Jonathan Knutz, entrepreneur Paul McLaren from Plano, Midland Chamber of Commerce consultant Douglas Scharbauer and Gary Heavin, the co-founder of the women’s gym Curves.
Phillip Huffines, the co-owner of Huffines Communities, whose brother is running for Texas Comptroller, donated $43,000 to the political action committee.
Standing for Texas
The group Standing for Texas is supporting Hunt’s Senate bid, but not much is known about the group, which is a nonprofit and doesn’t have to disclose its donors, according to The Texas Tribune. A website for a group called Standing for Texas describes itself as working for “the values that make Texas and America exceptional” and supporting “pro-growth economic policies, securing our borders, and promoting DOGE initiatives.”
An ad from the group highlights Hunt’s military background and support for Trump.
Conservative Texans PAC
The Conservative Texans super PAC has released an ad saying Hunt voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton for president in 2008. The group has raised more than $4 million since being created in January and is funded by the Conservative Americans PAC, established in 2023.
The Conservative Americans PAC is funded by the American Prosperity Alliance. As a nonprofit, the organization doesn’t have to disclose donors. On its website, American Prosperity Alliance describes itself as advocating for “legislative and regulatory policies that advance economic prosperity in America.”
Hunt Campaign
The following ad comes directly from Hunt’s campaign:
Paxton Campaign
The following ads come directly from Paxton’s campaign:
Ads in the Texas U.S. Senate Democratic primary
Nearly $28 million has been spent on advertisements in the Senate Democratic primary as of Feb. 27, according to AdImpact. Eighty percent of that was for ads supporting Talarico.
Here’s what to know about the candidates’ ads and the groups supporting and opposing them.
Lone Star Rising PAC
The Lone Star Rising PAC is supporting Talarico. It launched a negative digital ad in the Democratic primary. The ad, which wasn’t authorized by Talarico, challenges Crockett’s electability.
The political action committee was created in September and has reported raising $6.5 million. Its biggest donor is the Government that Works PAC, which describes itself as “electing Leaders to Make Government Work Again.” That group’s donors include Contours, Inc. which works for voter education and advocacy, according to its website. It’s also funded by the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a nonprofit that supports leaders and causes with progressive values.
Crockett has criticized the PAC. The group’s second ad of the season argued Crockett won’t be able to defeat Republicans in a general election. She has defended her electability and her campaign has said the PAC is “funded by billionaires and the Epstein Class.” LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who was named in the Epstein files, has donated $500,000 to the political action committee.
“My opponent claims that he will tax the rich and abolish Super PACs, yet he has welcomed and embraced these billionaires and their dark money support in the primary,” Crockett said.
Asked about Crockett’s rebuke of the PAC, Talarico said he’s focused on running a positive campaign.
“We’re on the same team trying to change the politics of the state and this country,” Talarico said in a recent interview with the Star-Telegram. “And so I can’t comment on what the congresswoman is doing or what outside groups are doing.”
His campaign has stressed that candidates cannot coordinate with Super PACs and that Talarico wasn’t involved in the ad, according to the Dallas Morning News and other news outlets.
In a statement, Gary Jones, a spokesperson for the PAC, reiterated that the group thinks Talarico is the Democrat who can win against a Republican in November.
“Our ads ensure voters know the stakes of this election, and which candidate the Republicans prefer to go up against,” Jones said.
Other ads from the PAC highlight Talarico’s work in the Texas Legislature and opposition to recent actions by ICE and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Gov. Greg Abbott is spending millions on ads featuring Crockett.
The ads aren’t Senate campaign ads per se. They feature prominent Democrats, including Crockett, and urge voters to support Abbott on March 3. But the governor’s political advisers told the newspaper that they aim to boost early voting turnout among Republican primary voters who dislike the congresswoman.
Crockett Campaign
The following ad comes directly from Crockett’s campaign:
Talarico Campaign
The following ads come directly from Talarico’s campaign:
This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 7:07 PM.
CORRECTION: John Nau III is the former chairman and CEO of Silver Eagle Distributors. A previous verison of this article included an incorrect title.
