Trump got the Senate candidates he wanted. How much will he spend to
help them?
[July 03, 2026]
By THOMAS BEAUMONT
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump reshaped this year’s U.S.
Senate map by sidelining some Republican incumbents and promoting
loyalists to replace them. Now the question is whether he’ll put his
money where his mouth is.
With four months to go until November’s elections, it's still unclear
how much MAGA Inc., the country's largest political war chest with $382
million in the bank as of last month, plans to spend on key races. The
silence has persisted even as Senate Republican leaders have urged
Trump’s team, both privately and publicly, to pick up the tab for the
president’s decisions.
Front and center is Texas, where Trump successfully endorsed fiery
conservative Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn, a choice that some
Republicans grumble has turned a safe election into a toss-up that will
drain resources away from other battlegrounds. Democratic nominee James
Talarico, a state lawmaker, has made Paxton's history of corruption
allegations a central target of his campaign.
“The president picked Paxton, and he’s got $350 million dollars," Cornyn
recently told Semafor. “I think he can spend his money.”
Another challenge has emerged in North Carolina, where Sen. Thom Tillis
declined to run for reelection after feuding with Trump last year over
healthcare spending. Trump backed Michael Whatley, his former handpicked
chair of the Republican National Committee, to run instead, and
Democrats hope to flip the seat with former Gov. Roy Cooper.
Some in Republican campaign leadership are expecting MAGA Inc. to pitch
in for Whatley in North Carolina, where the state’s several metro media
markets can be pricey.
Republicans will likely be able to count on generous support from
well-funded official party committees, which the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled earlier this week should be allowed to make unlimited direct
contributions to candidates’ campaigns. But even that sum falls short of
what Trump has stockpiled in MAGA Inc. Even though the president is
constitutionally barred from running again, he began raising money
shortly after winning a second term, and he's regularly held fundraisers
at his resort properties where tickets cost $1 million per person.
James Blair, the former White House political director who left his
government job to coordinate the president's midterm efforts, was
evasive in an interview with Sean Spicer, a former Republican spokesman
who hosts a podcast.
“The president is going to expend substantial resources to win the
midterms,” said Blair. “He cares deeply about the party winning.”
As a super PAC, MAGA Inc. can raise unlimited money from individuals and
corporations. However, it is barred from coordinating with individual
campaigns or national Republican committees, which adds to the sense of
mystery surrounding its plans.
[to top of second column]
|
President Donald Trump walks from Marine One to board Air Force One
at Bismarck Municipal Airport, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Bismarck,
N.D. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
It’s been more than two months since Blair, along with White House
Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, pollster Tony Fabrizio and political
adviser Chris LaCivita huddled at Washington’s Waldorf Astoria to
discuss MAGA Inc.'s strategy.
The huddle was focused on assembling teams of vendors, such as
advertisers, canvassing providers and digital media company leaders
who had worked with the Trump team in key states during previous
elections and who would be dispatched once plans were in place.
The president has spent much of the year waging a war of retribution
against Republicans who have crossed him. He viewed Cornyn as
insufficiently loyal, held a grudge against Sen. Bill Cassidy of
Louisiana for voting to convict him in an impeachment trial and
assailed Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky as the “worst Republican
Congressman in history." All of them lost their primaries to
Trump-backed challengers.
Cornyn's loss weighs heavily on Senate Republicans, who suggest that
Paxton could cost the party an extra $100 million to defend the
seat.
Senate Leadership Fund, the principal super PAC aligned with Senate
Majority Leader John Thune, is still expected to spend money on
advertising in Texas but not play a central role given its
obligations elsewhere.
Democrats must net four seats to take the majority, and they see
Alaska, Maine, North Carolina and Ohio as their best opportunities.
The Senate Leadership Fund has already committed to spending $342
million across these four states, plus Iowa, Georgia, Michigan and
New Hampshire.
When Paxton came to Washington after winning the nomination on May
26, he had a cordial meeting with Thune focused on moving forward
together, according to people with knowledge of the conversation who
were not authorized to speak publicly.
Later that day, Thune suggested that Trump should be putting up
money for a candidate whom Senate Republicans hadn’t asked for.
“We will do what we need to do to make sure the state stays red,"
Thune told reporters. "But I’m certainly hopeful the president and
the resources he can bring to bear will be engaged.”
“It’s going to be an expensive race,” he added.
___
Associated Press White House correspondent Seung Min Kim contributed
from Washington. Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
