Political campaigns cost a lot of money.

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Texas is hosting some of the most high-profile, competitive and expensive races in this year’s election cycle. 

With Republican control on the line, PACs and wealthy donors have continued to pour money into Texas races. The razor-thin Senate race between Attorny General Ken Paxton and Rep. James Talarico is generating a lot of attention, and a ton of money. 

The two candidates combined broke the campaign advertising spending record in early October when ad spending exceeded $240 million. That number is now over $500 million.

The race for governor isn’t short on cash either, as Gov. Greg Abbott raised $20 million and Rep. Gina Hinojosa raised $ 13 million in the third campaign quarter. 

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Let’s put these numbers into perspective using some Dallas staples. 

Texas State Fair

The Texas State Fair, which just wrapped up its 2026 season, totals more than $70 million in operating costs each year. In 2025, the State Fair spent a little over $72 million. This equals what Abbott’s campaign has spent since July 1. 

If all of the city of Dallas’ 1.3 million residents bought a Fletcher’s Original Corny Dog at the State Fair of Texas, priced at $8, the total would be $1.5 million over the donations Abbott accepted from data center donors as he called for statewide regulations. 

Dallas’ most expensive restaurant

As we reported last year, Tatsu and Monarch are Dallas’ most expensive restaurants. Tatsu is one of the few restaurants North Texas with a Michelin star and costs $185 for each person. The $185 price tag does not include drinks, tax, and an automatic 18% gratuity, so let’s just call it $250 per person. 

The city of Dallas could have its population eat at Tatsu for $250 each, totaling over $332 million, and still not match the amount spent on campaign advertisements for Talarico and Paxton. 

The same 1.3 million Dallasites could then head over to Monarch and order the Mayor of Speyside, a signature cocktail made with Glenfiddich 18-year, Laird’s Applejack, Fernet Vallet and smoke with a price tag of $85, and would be about $15 million shy of the $128 million in donations gathered by Talarico. 

Dallas Cowboys tix

Paxton has been outspent by Talarico for a majority of the campaign period, until President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Super PAC’s opened their wallets for his cause. The world’s wealthiest man is heavily bankrolling the Texas PAC, a new super PAC launched by the Senate Leadership Fund, and has dropped nearly $190 million in air support for Paxton’s ads. 

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who has played 11 seasons for the team, makes $60 million annually. In three years, his salary will be nearly equal to the funds Musk has poured into Texas’ Senate race. 

Ring of Honor Suites at AT&T Stadium for the Cowboys’ Nov. 15 game against the San Francisco 49ers are selling for over $56,000. This suite price is $6,000 more than a donation Abbott received from Tarek Mansour, a co-founder of the prediction market company Kalshi. 

With Election Day fast approaching, candidates are using every bit of campaign time and money left to influence the polls. Texas is already seeing record early-voting turnout, which began on Oct. 19 and runs until Oct. 30.