Football fans far from the Lone Star State were targeted with ads about the Texas Senate race during the morning of NFL games Sunday.
Texas PAC, a GOP-funded political action committee, purchased television advertising time to air several commercials Sunday during FOX’s broadcast of the Dallas Cowboys’ victory over the Houston Texans. Sunday’s game, which kicked off at noon CT, wasn’t just broadcast on Texas televisions. Dallas’ victory was broadcast on FOX channels in all or parts of 22 states, with parts of the country stretching as far as Colorado in the west and as far as North Carolina in the east.
The Texas PAC aired several ads during more than three hours of Sunday’s game. One featured support for Ken Paxton, Republican candidate for Texas Senate, and his work “protecting Texas’s children” through the Attorney General’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit.
Then came a much more unexpected pitch.
NFL viewers were introduced to Angela Paxton, Texas state senator and ex-wife of Ken Paxton, on Sunday. Angela Paxton filed for divorce from Ken Paxton last July on “biblical grounds,” citing alleged adultery. How does this impact his vote in the 2026 elections? Well, not at all.
“People have asked me what I think about this election, and it turns out I do,” Angela Paxton told viewers in an ad funded by the Texas PAC. “Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. In a general election, it’s not so much about individual players on the team. It’s more about getting the whole team across the finish line.
“Either we hold every Republican seat or we hand the future of Texas to the other team. That’s why I’m voting Republican on November 3. Let’s stay the course, together.”
The ads themselves weren’t necessarily unusual for a Texas Senate campaign. What caught the attention of some viewers was seeing them during NFL broadcasts hundreds of miles from Texas, in states where voters have no say in the race.
Some took to social media to ask why they were suddenly being offered ads about Paxton and the Texas Senate race.
One commentator, Christopher Hooks, summed up the unusual effect of Angela Paxton’s spot on
Other viewers seemed to have exactly this reaction.
“Dawg, I’m in ROSSLYN, VIRGINIA,” one viewer wrote on X.
“Why am I getting Ken Paxton commercials during the Eagles Rams game???” » posted another viewer.
At the beginning of October, football became embroiled in national politics. Don’t expect a reprieve in the next month.
Ohio Senate ads supporting Republican Jon Husted aired nationally on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday. On Sunday, a FOX ad also aired against Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico for his support of transgender people in Texas (the ad was also funded by the Texas PAC).
President Trump also aired television ads during commercial breaks at NFL games on Sunday, which were funded by the U.S. government, according to the ad.
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