Elon Musk Pours $276 Million Into GOP Midterm Campaigns

Elon Musk has spent more than $276 million on Republican groups and his own super PAC since July, making him the biggest known donor of the midterm elections. The figures were first reported by The New York Times ahead of this week's federal filing deadline and confirmed by a spokesman for Musk's super PAC.

The largest check went to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC for Republican Senate candidates, which is aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune: $158 million. The Times called it one of the largest political donations in American history. It is also more than the Democrats' rival Senate Majority PAC raised in the entire third quarter — $151 million.

The rest went to the Congressional Leadership Fund, the main House Republican super PAC ($20 million); Musk's own America PAC (more than $76 million); the Lone Star Liberty PAC ($10 million); the Republican Governors Association ($10 million); and the Republican Attorneys General Association ($2 million). All told, Musk has put $366 million into federal committees in the 2025–2026 cycle, which began January 1, 2025. He gave $290 million in 2024.

The Texas Senate race has drawn a large share of the money. America PAC, which Musk founded, has deployed nearly 3,000 paid canvassers and is working in seven battleground states and nearly three dozen House races. More than a third of its midterm spending has gone to boosting Ken Paxton, the Republican Senate nominee in Texas, where recent polls show him in a close race against Democrat James Talarico.

The spending marks a turnaround. In May, Musk said he intended to cut back on political giving. “I think I've done enough,” he said at the time. He has kept a lower profile this cycle than in 2024, when he appeared onstage with Donald Trump and ran a large door-knocking operation for him. Musk and Trump had a falling out when Musk left his government post leading the Department of Government Efficiency, but the two have since reconciled. Trump presented Musk with the National Medal of Science last week.

Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for America PAC, said the money was meant to give Republicans a fighting chance. “If Democrats take control of Washington and win key gubernatorial and attorney general races this November, then America risks becoming a socialist, woke and borderless country,” he said in a statement. “These robust investments have allowed the GOP apparatus to get its message out so Republicans can have a fighting chance to defy history.”

Democrats are countering with their own fundraising. The Senate Majority PAC raised $151 million in the third quarter and entered October with between $112 million and $126 million on hand. Some House Democrats have also called for investigations into Musk's government contracts as the CEO of SpaceX and his work running the Department of Government Efficiency. Both parties are pouring cash into the November 3 election, in which Democrats' chances of retaking the House and Senate have improved, according to Reuters.