Musk Pours Record $76 Million Into Final Weeks of Midterm Elections
The tech magnate’s latest funding surge targets key Republican races in a high-stakes push for the November vote.
By Jabari Long ·
Elon Musk has significantly intensified his financial backing for the Republican Party in the final days of the midterm campaign. His personal political committee, America PAC, received a contribution exceeding $76 million during the first two weeks of October. A pre-election report filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday evening confirms this substantial influx of cash, which is being deployed to support Republican candidates as the election approaches.
The committee has already put a large portion of these new funds to work. Nearly $43 million was spent in the first half of the month, leaving the group with approximately $47 million in cash reserves for the remaining stretch of the campaign. This strategic deployment of resources marks a pivotal moment in what has been one of the most heavily funded election cycles in recent history.
The Texas Senate race has been the primary recipient of this new capital. The PAC allocated $15.2 million to the state, a figure that is double the amount spent in Texas over the entire summer. Of that total, $12.4 million was used to attack Democratic candidate James Talarico, while $2.8 million was spent promoting Republican Ken Paxton. Subsequent daily filings indicate an additional $9.1 million has been spent against Talarico, bringing the cycle total for opposing him to nearly $28 million. This spending accounts for roughly 40 percent of all funds the PAC has used to support or oppose candidates this year.
There has also been a noticeable shift in the medium of advertising. In the same two-week period, the committee spent $11.4 million on digital advertisements. This figure is nearly equal to what was previously spent on mail and text messaging combined, signaling a pivot toward online engagement to reach voters in the final days.
This recent donation is part of a broader financial commitment by Musk. According to an analysis of Federal Election Commission filings, he has contributed more than $445 million to Republican political groups in this election cycle. This total solidifies his position as the largest known individual donor for the midterms. Since July alone, more than $165 million has flowed into America PAC. The committee declined to provide specific comments regarding the new filing.
Musk has also been active on social media, using his platform to engage directly with the Texas race. On Wednesday, he posted on X that there is something deeply wrong with Talarico, labeling him a creep. He further claimed, without providing supporting evidence, that the Democrat would vote to take away children and transition them. Earlier in the month, Musk amplified a false claim that Talarico had been treated at a mental health facility. Talarico responded quickly, stating that the political system is flawed when it allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal US senator.
Despite the massive financial investment, the contest in Texas remains competitive. A poll conducted by Emerson College among 1,000 likely voters between October 17 and 19 showed Talarico leading by a narrow margin. The survey found Talarico at 48 percent and Paxton at 46 percent, a difference within the poll’s three-point margin of error. This close result suggests that the final push of advertising and outreach could be decisive.
The implications of these races extend well beyond the Senate seat in Texas. If Democrats secure control of the House of Representatives, leadership members have indicated they will launch investigations into Musk’s role in the Department of Government Efficiency. They also plan to examine federal contracts held by his companies. Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat from California, described the number of conflicts of interest as astounding. A unified Democratic Congress would likely present an even greater challenge for Musk and his business interests.
Targets for potential Democratic oversight have expanded recently. Silicon Valley Democrats sent a letter to the White House on Friday calling for an investigation into restrictions on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite service in Ukraine. Representatives Sam Liccardo, Jimmy Panetta, and Ro Khanna signed the letter, vowing that the next Congress will closely scrutinize federal funding awarded to Mr. Musk’s businesses. This adds another layer of complexity to the stakes involved in the upcoming elections.
