If Republicans win the midterms, Elon Musk’s money may be why

By Fredreka Schouten, CNN

(CNN) — Elon Musk has plowed nearly half a billion dollars into elections in the 2026 cycle, a spending spree that makes him the single, largest disclosed donor in modern American politics and one of the Republican Party’s largest-ever benefactors.

The world’s richest man has contributed more than $445 million to federal committees alone through mid-October – more than double the nearly $177 million that Democratic megadonor George Soros gave to outside groups during the 2022 cycle to become the largest known individual donor in the last midterm elections for Congress.

Musk’s money could “single-handedly” alter the course of the midterms, said Brendan Glavin, who oversees research at the nonprofit OpenSecrets. The group tracks political spending.

“One person is completely dominating and changing the landscape of how Republicans are able to spend money and defend themselves,” he said.

Musk has donated nearly $216 million to America PAC, the super PAC at the center of his political operation. The group’s activity spans more than 40 House and Senate races this fall, according to federal campaign data.

But nowhere has the billionaire spent more than in Texas, where he lives and has headquartered parts of his business empire.

The key Senate contest there between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton could determine which party controls the chamber during the last two years of President Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House.

America PAC has funded mailers, digital advertising and other outreach to Texas voters in an effort to defeat Talarico and other Democrats.

But far more Musk money – at least $168 million so far – has been deployed in Texas through other groups. A pair of donations last month, for instance, from the SpaceX CEO to the Senate Leadership Fund, a leading Republican super PAC, were quickly funneled to a second group, Texas PAC, that has issued blistering attacks against Talarico on the airwaves, recent disclosures show.

Much of the anti-Talarico messaging seeks to portray him as out of step with Texas values, with some citing his vote as a state legislator against a 2023 law banning gender surgeries and other medical interventions for minors. (Talarico’s campaign has said he does not support gender surgery for children but opposed the bill because it was overly broad.)

Musk also has donated $10 million to the pro-Paxton Lone Star Liberty PAC, which as CNN’s KFILE reported this week, has underwritten AI-generated robocalls attacking Talarico.

A spokesperson for Musk’s America PAC declined to comment.

But Republicans familiar with the strategy said the PAC is broadly focused on helping the GOP retain control of Congress next year and describe Musk’s move to shoulder some of the Texas advertising costs as freeing other GOP groups to deploy resources elsewhere to protect the Senate majority.

In a statement, the Senate Leadership Fund’s executive director Alex Latcham said the donors who stepped up to fund Texas PAC “ensured that we did not have to divert any resources from other key races” and have allowed the group “to run effective campaigns across the map.”

Last-minute onslaught

Talarico has raised more money than any other federal candidate this cycle, $146 million through October 14, more than six times the $22.3 million collected by Paxton, according to Federal Election Commission records. And a CNN poll released Thursday shows the Democrat with a narrow lead over Paxton.

But Talarico has faced an onslaught of outside spending from pro-Paxton interests, including those funded by Musk, in recent weeks. In the final four weeks of the Texas Senate campaign, Democrats have been outspent by Republicans on ads by more than 2 to 1, $118.9 million to $54.7 million, according to AdImpact data.

Dave Carney, a top political adviser to Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott’s reelection campaign, says Republicans in the state believe the spending by Musk and other GOP groups is starting to exact a toll on Talarico.

“It has taken the pretty boy, neighbor next door, cute moderate nice guy and has exposed his voting record,” Carney told CNN this week.

Talarico is increasingly taking aim at Musk to highlight his outsized role in the Texas race, as Democrats work to motivate their voters to turn out in the final stretch.

“Elon Musk is trying to buy this Senate seat,” Talarico said during a recent rally as he ticked off the breadth of Musk-funded activity in the state.

“In all likelihood, if you’ve seen an attack ad on your TV, that was Elon,” he said. “If you’ve gotten lies in your mailbox, that was Elon. If you’ve received a text message saying scary things about me, that was Elon, too.”

A recent digital ad from Talarico reinforced the message, saying Paxton “will owe him everything” if Musk’s money helps to elect the Republican.

A Paxton spokesperson did not respond to CNN’s inquiry.

Democrats have sought to use Musk as a foil to spur turnout before.

In Wisconsin last year, a $20 million spending blitz by Musk and aligned groups – along with his decision to campaign in the state – became a central message for Democrats who soundly defeated Musk’s preferred candidate in a state Supreme Court contest.

Other Democratic ads that year used images of Musk holding a chainsaw aloft to highlight his controversial and short-lived tenure running the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.

This year, Musk has kept a lower profile, even as his political spending has soared to new heights. He has not campaigned with candidates.

But he has used X, the social media platform he controls to amplify his criticism of Talarico with increasing frequency. In the last week, he’s posted more than a dozen times about the Democrat, often disparaging him as “far-left extremist.”

Musk and his spending loom large over the election, said Lynda Tran, a Democratic strategist based in Washington.

The billionaire may not be on stage “wielding a chainsaw and other theatrics,” she said, “but there’s no way to hide the ball on the contributions he’s making or how much he cares about various Republican races.”

CNN’s David Wright contributed to this report.

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