A $2,500 donation from Barbara Bush, daughter of former President George W. Bush, has surfaced in Federal Election Commission records tied to a political action committee supporting Democrat James Talarico in the Texas U.S. Senate race.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, which first reported the filing on Friday, the FEC’s website lists Bush as the donor, Lone Star Rising PAC as the recipient, and the contribution date as September 23, 2026. Talarico, a state representative from Austin, is running against Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton for the seat.
The donation drew attention in part because it was made publicly and traceably. Political attorney and campaign finance expert Andrew Cates told Houston Public Media that a family with the Bushes’ resources could easily have kept the contribution anonymous if that had been the goal.
“I would imagine that somebody in such a prominent political family, if she wanted to ensure that her contribution was anonymous or not visible, that any number of lawyers that they probably have at their disposal could have told her how,” Cates said.
“She didn’t give it to a [501](c)(4), in which her contribution would have been completely anonymous. She gave it to a PAC that reports all the money in and out,” he added.
This is not the first time Barbara Bush has backed a Democratic candidate. In October 2024, she campaigned in Pennsylvania for then-Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of Harris’s loss to Donald Trump. Bush has said she does not identify with either major political party and has previously voiced support for abortion rights.
A Well-Funded PAC
Lone Star Rising PAC has been a major financial force in the race. In July, Breitbart News reported that LinkedIn co-founder and Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman had given the PAC more than $10 million, according to FEC filings cited by Bloomberg. The group has spent heavily promoting Talarico and criticizing Paxton.
Recent polling shows Paxton with a narrow lead over Talarico heading into the November midterms. Paxton’s campaign has framed the race in stark terms, stating on its website that the election “will determine whether Texas remains the conservative stronghold that leads America or becomes another state controlled by the radical left.”
