Houston, Texas, the US – Texas voters have begun casting ballots in a consequential US Senate race that has already become the most expensive in United States history.
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that → begin → history
All told, at least $573.2m had been poured into support for both Republican candidate Ken Paxton and Democratic candidate James Talarico ahead of the Tuesday, November 3 vote.
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m → tell → vote
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polls → open → elections
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drive → galvanise → vote
The figure has included at least $212m to support Paxton from billionaire Elon Musk, whose SpaceX company is based in southern Texas.
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company → include → Texas
The sum made voters of varying political persuasions queasy as they cast their ballots in a race that has been defined by affordability issues.
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that → make → issues
“That kind of money is being spent on the wrong stuff,” said Rico Sanchez, a 40-year-old union sheet metal worker who voted for Democrats based on the sky-high cost of living.
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who → spend → living
“It’s about control,” he said.
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he → ’ → control
Kasey Blanco, a 21-year-old who split his ballot, voting for Republican Governor Greg Abbott and Democratic US Senate candidate Talarico, echoed the sentiment.
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who → split → sentiment
“It’s kind of scary,” he said.
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he → ’ → ?
“You see the extent that a lot of these politicians are trying to get into the game and distort the view.
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lot → see → view
”
Political power “should be from the people, by the people”, Blanco said.
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Blanco → say → people
The record spending has included both funds raised by the campaigns, as well as outside spending.
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spending → include → campaigns
Talarico has outpaced Paxton in campaign funding, raising $155m to Paxton’s $40m.
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Talarico → outpace → 40
Federal law limits fundraising from individual donors, who must identify themselves.
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who → limit → themselves
Separately, a huge amount of money has poured in via political action committees called super PACs, which can spend an unlimited amount in support of a candidate but cannot directly coordinate with campaigns.
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which → pour → campaigns
Paxton has been the largest beneficiary of such spending, including $168m from Musk to the Senate Leadership Fund, which has gone almost completely to supporting the Republican candidate, according to a New York Times analysis.
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which → include → analysis
The newspaper estimated that Musk, who briefly and controversially led US President Donald Trump’s federal cost-cutting panel, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), had spent at least $212m on Paxton, noting it was likely an undercount due to so-called “dark money” spending.
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it → estimate → spending
Trump’s MAGA Inc PAC has spent at least $10m to support Paxton.
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PAC → spend → Paxton
The Lone Star Rising PAC, meanwhile, has spent at least $21m on Talarico.
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PAC → spend → Talarico
With national eyes on Texas, both US Senate candidates gave their closing pitches late Monday.
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candidates → give → pitches
Talarico seized on Paxton’s past corruption allegations as Texas attorney general, drawing attention to Musk’s spending spree as evidence of prioritising big money interests over everyday voters.
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Talarico → seize → voters
His campaign has regularly referenced the “Friday Night Lights” television show, the story of an underdog American football team.
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campaign → reference → team
A Talarico victory would represent the first time a Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994, with the party long hoping to “turn Texas blue”.
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party → represent → Texas
“We’re going to do something extraordinary,” Talarico said from San Antonio.
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Talarico → go → Antonio
“We’re going to do something historic.
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We → go → something
We’re going to shock the billionaires, shock the world, when we take back Texas.”
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we → go → Texas
Paxton has portrayed Talarico as antithetical to the ideals of Texas, which has been dominated by Republicans for three decades.
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which → portray → decades
The state’s low-tax, low-regulation model, mixed with conservative social policies, has long given it special significance in Republican mythos.
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model → mix → mythos
Paxton’s campaign has repeatedly referenced the 1836 Texas Revolution, an uprising against then-Mexican control.
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campaign → reference → control
“We’ve never been this close to losing everything that we hold dear – our jobs, our livelihoods, our way of life in Texas,” he said at an event in Collin County.
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he → lose → County
“If Texas falls, we don’t have another Texas to move to.”
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we → fall → Texas
Casting her ballot on Tuesday, 46-year-old Texas voter Monique Orellana said she was uncomfortable with Musk’s spending.
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she → cast → spending
“He’s pouring all that money out here, trying to get whatever he’s trying to get,” she told Al Jazeera.
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she → pour → Jazeera
Regardless of party, she wanted elected officials to do their job and represent the people.
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officials → want → people
“I would vote for Republicans if I felt they were gonna do what they said they were gonna do.
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they → vote → Republicans
Right now I’m not feeling it,” she said.
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she → feel → it
“Trump said he wasn’t going to start a war, and he did anyway.
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he → say → war
And he said he was going to fix the price of groceries on day one.
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he → say → day
They went up anyway,” she said.
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she → go → ?
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
