Elon Musk Keeps Low Profile in Texas Senate Race

Elon Musk is backing Republican candidates in the Texas Senate race without the public rallies, novelty hats or eight-figure giveaways he used in Wisconsin last year, and Republican strategists say that is exactly how they want it, NBC News reported Sept. 21, 2026.

What is Musk's role in the Texas Senate race?

Musk lives in Texas, bases Tesla and SpaceX there, and employs about 20,000 people in the state, according to NBC News. He has not announced in-person events or teased direct payments to voters in the contest between Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, a race Talarico had led in fundraising before Republicans say the financial gap began closing with Musk's help, per NBC News.

Why did Wisconsin change Musk's approach?

In the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race, Musk wore an oversized cheese hat, offered $1 million checks to voters and helped push at least $20 million from himself and affiliated groups into the contest, NBC News reported. The conservative candidate he backed lost by 10 points, a result widely read as a rebuke of both Musk and the Trump administration, according to the outlet.

Why do Republicans want Musk to stay quiet this time?

More than half a dozen Republican strategists involved in the Texas race told NBC News they hope Musk instead follows his 2024 playbook, when he spent more than $250 million backing Donald Trump and congressional Republicans without becoming the center of the story. Strategists said they fear Democrats will try to make Musk a campaign issue if his involvement becomes as visible as it was in Wisconsin.

"He came in super late, and it was very public," a Republican consultant involved in the Texas Senate race told NBC News, describing the Wisconsin effort as a mistake. The consultant, like others NBC News interviewed for the story, was granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Who is running, and how close is the race?

Paxton, the sitting Republican attorney general, faces Talarico, a Democrat who initially outraised him and remains close in polling, according to NBC News. The outlet reported that Musk's spending is contributing to a shift in the financial balance between the two campaigns.

What to watch

• Whether Musk holds any public events or makes on-camera appearances in Texas before Election Day
• Whether Democratic ads attempt to tie Talarico's opponent to Musk directly, as happened in Wisconsin
• Fundraising totals in upcoming disclosure periods, given the reported narrowing gap between Paxton and Talarico
• Whether Musk-aligned groups disclose spending totals comparable to the roughly $20 million deployed in Wisconsin

Glossary

• Boogeyman strategy: A political tactic in which one party tries to make an opposing figure — here, Musk — the face of an opponent's campaign to mobilize its own base.
• Affiliated groups: Political action committees or nonprofits connected to a donor that can spend independently of a candidate's official campaign.
• Battleground financial gap: The difference in total money raised or spent between competing campaigns, tracked through periodic disclosure filings.

Musk's representatives were not quoted directly in the NBC News report on his current strategy in Texas.

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