# Paxton goes on air in South Texas

> Ken Paxton's first big ad buy of the general election bets the Senate race on cost of living, and on a pun about his opponent's name.
- Title: Paxton goes on air in South Texas · The Texas Tribune
- Summary: Ken Paxton's first big ad buy of the general election bets the Senate race on cost of living, and on a pun about his opponent's name. Both campaigns have…
- Keywords: texas, senate race, campaign ads, affordability, paxton, talarico, news, local, goes, air, South, The Texas Tribune
- Source: The Texas Tribune — https://feeds.texastribune.org/link/16799/17462509/texas-ken-paxton-first-ads-james-talarico
- Author: Gabby Birenbaum
- Published: 2026-09-15T13:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: texas, senate race, campaign ads, affordability, paxton, talarico, news, local
## Paxton hits the airwaves
Ken Paxton's campaign is launching its first substantial broadcast buy of the general election: two economy-focused spots running in the Harlingen, Laredo and Corpus Christi markets.
## Affordability is the ballot
Polling keeps putting cost of living and affordability at the top of voters' priority list for the November midterms, and both spots are built around that.
## The positive spot
"Ken's Plan" pitches tax deductions for things like a home down payment or health insurance premiums, casting Paxton as the one fighting to make life affordable.

> leading the fight to make life affordable for Texans
## Tala-broke
The attack ad puts James Talarico in front of a gas pump and plays on his surname, since "rico" means rich in Spanish. It ties him to his opposition to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

> N'ombre, Tala-broke. That's what he'll make Texas.
## What Talarico actually said
He opposed the bill over its Medicaid and SNAP cuts, arguing the tax benefits land with the ultra-wealthy. His own plan raises corporate and billionaire rates and the minimum wage.
## Diesel over six dollars
Talarico has gone after Paxton on gas prices, renewing his April call to suspend the federal diesel tax after the national average passed $6 a gallon.
## A toss-up, and a flood of money
Paxton Victory is spending about $300,000 a week, alongside roughly $60 million from Texas PAC and tens of millions more from MAGA Inc. Recent polls show Talarico with a narrow lead.

> If the billionaires are coming after us, we must be doing something right
## Key takeaway

Both campaigns have decided affordability is the whole ballgame in Texas, and the ad money is now flowing hard on both sides of a toss-up race.