Barbara Bush, a daughter of former President George W. Bush, donated $2,500 to a super PAC supporting Texas Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico, according to Federal Election Commission records first reported by the Austin American-Statesman on Friday.
FEC filings list Bush as the donor, Lone Star Rising PAC as the recipient, and the date of the contribution as September 23, 2026.
Political attorney and campaign finance expert Andrew Cates told Houston Public Media that the donation was made through a publicly disclosed vehicle rather than one that would have shielded Bush’s identity.
“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.
Lone Star Rising PAC, which backs Talarico, an Austin state representative, has drawn significant financial support this cycle. In July, Breitbart News reported that LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman contributed more than $10 million to the group, according to Bloomberg’s review of FEC filings. The PAC has spent heavily both promoting Talarico and criticizing his Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
This is not the first time Bush has publicly supported a Democratic candidate. In October 2024, she campaigned in Pennsylvania for then-Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of Harris’s loss to President Donald Trump. Bush has said she does not identify with either political party and has voiced support for abortion rights.
Recent polling has shown Paxton with a narrow lead over Talarico ahead of the November midterm election. Paxton’s campaign website describes the race as a decision over whether Texas “remains the conservative stronghold that leads America or becomes another state controlled by the radical left.”
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