State Rep. James Talarico, the Democrat nominee for the U.S. Senate in Texas, announced that his campaign raised a record-breaking $30 million during the second quarter, significantly outpacing Republican nominee and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Talarico's campaign said the April-through-June fundraising haul is the largest ever by a U.S. Senate candidate during the second quarter of an election year.
The campaign said Wednesday that it has raised more than $70 million since launching in September through more than 1.5 million donations from more than 780,000 individual contributors.
"I'm honored to stand alongside more than 780,000 neighbors who are tired of being divided into teams — red versus blue, left versus right, rural versus urban," Talarico said in a statement posted on X.
"We are uniting Texans onto one team to change this broken, corrupt political system and bring down costs for working families."
The Texas Tribune reported that Talarico's total more than tripled the more than $9 million Paxton's campaign said it raised during the same period.
Paxton's campaign described its fundraising as the largest second-quarter haul this cycle by any nonincumbent Republican Senate candidate.
Federal campaign finance reports detailing donors and cash on hand are due July 15.
Talarico's campaign said 97% of its contributions were $100 or less and that teachers made up the largest occupational group among donors.
Campaign manager Seth Krasne said the fundraising reflects a grassroots effort capable of competing in one of the nation's largest states.
"Running a truly competitive campaign in a state with nearly three times the population of any other battleground state will take unprecedented resources," Krasne said, while criticizing what he called "loopholes for billionaires and special interests."
The fundraising announcement comes as national Democrats view Texas as an increasingly competitive Senate battleground, though Republicans remain confident they can keep the seat in GOP hands.
The Hill reported that the National Republican Senatorial Committee said it is "rallying behind" Paxton to preserve President Donald Trump's Senate majority.
Recent New York Times/Siena College polling found the race tied at 47% apiece, underscoring what could become one of the nation's most closely watched Senate contests.
Republicans, however, have sought to focus attention on Talarico's liberal positions on social issues, while Democrats have continued attacking Paxton over past legal and ethics controversies.
Despite Talarico's fundraising success, Republicans have historically dominated statewide elections in Texas.
No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate race in the Lone Star State since 1988, making the contest a major test of whether Democrats can translate record fundraising into electoral success.