Dem
51
Ties
3
GOP
46
Donald Trump is sitting on a pot of money worth $404 million, although Trump said it was worth $1 billion. Maybe he is counting his reputation for another $600 million. So far he has spent almost nothing to help Republican candidates. His only expenditure this year has been $827,000 for Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC). Many Republicans are carping about Trump being a cheapskate and not a team player. Now, Trump has said he will spend $400-500 million on the elections.
Take this with adequate sodium chloride. First, if Trump were really interested in spending big time, surely he would have started already, especially in Texas, where Ken Paxton is a poor fundraiser. Second, it may be too late, as early voting is about to start and it takes time to prepare ads and get them ready to go, unless the ad is just the candidate shouting: "My opponent is a communist." Third, many voters have seen enough and already made up their minds. No amount of negative ads will change that. Fourth, a lot of prime ad slots have already been purchased. It may not even be possible to spend that much for lack of inventory. Fifth, but really most important, Trump hates to spend money he controls on anyone except himself. Given a choice between spending it on candidates and just keeping it, his instinct is to keep it.
Trump could compromise, however, and spend money on ads—about himself, not the candidates. He also said that he would personally approve whatever spending there was and would direct it to candidates he believes will win. This is another way of saying that he prizes his batting average over control of the House or Senate. He also said he would make many campaign stops for candidates, although a number of candidates have said they don't want to be associated with him. If enough candidates say "no thanks," he might just decide to keep all the money himself. Not a difficult decision.
Karl Rove, who still knows a thing or two about Texas politics, said: "Time is running out. If the president wants to have Paxton win, he needs to be tossing a lot of money Paxton's way so that ads can be run that depict Talarico as the far-left winger that he is." It appears that Trump took notice. On Saturday, MAGA Inc. announced it would spend $10 million to help Ken Paxton. But Texas is a big state and if all it will spend is $10 million, it will be spread pretty thin. If the goal is to scare Paxton's opponent, James Talarico, it is not going to do the job. Talarico has raised $70 million this cycle. (V)