Musk Injects Another $76 Million Into Midterm Races
America PAC poured fresh funds into the Texas Senate contest and digital advertising as the election approaches.
By Sarah Montgomery ·
Elon Musk has added more than $76 million to his personal political committee, America PAC, during the first two weeks of October. A pre-election report filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday evening confirms this new infusion of cash intended to support Republican candidates in the final stretch of the midterms. The group reported that it spent nearly $43 million during that same two-week period. It entered the final phase of the campaign holding close to $47 million in cash reserves.
The Texas Senate race absorbed the largest share of this new spending. The PAC directed $15.2 million to that contest, which is double the amount it spent there during the entire summer. Of that total, $12.4 million was used to attack Democratic candidate James Talarico, while $2.8 million supported Republican Ken Paxton. Subsequent daily filings show an additional $9.1 million spent against Talarico since then. This brings the PAC’s total spending against him this cycle to nearly $28 million, representing about 40 percent of all money the group has spent supporting or opposing candidates.
The PAC also shifted its strategy toward online advertising. It spent $11.4 million on digital ads in the first two weeks of October. This figure is close to what the group spent on mail and texting combined. Overall, Musk has donated more than $445 million to Republican political groups in this election cycle, according to an analysis of FEC filings. This makes him the largest known individual donor in the midterms, with more than $165 million going to America PAC since July alone. America PAC declined to comment on the new filings.
Musk, who has companies like Tesla and SpaceX based in Texas, has also been vocal about the race online. On Wednesday, he posted on X that there is something deeply wrong with Talarico. He later called the Democrat a creep and claimed without evidence that Talarico would vote to take away people's kids and transition them. Earlier in the month, Musk amplified a false claim that Talarico had been treated at a mental health facility. Talarico responded to that claim by saying there is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal US Senator.
The race in Texas remains close. An Emerson College poll of 1,000 likely voters conducted from October 17 to 19 found Talarico at 48 percent and Paxton at 46 percent. This difference falls within the poll's 3-point margin of error, leaving the outcome uncertain.
The stakes for Musk extend beyond the Senate seat. If Democrats win the House, lawmakers in line to lead committees have signaled they will investigate his role in the Department of Government Efficiency. They also plan to look into federal contracts held by his companies and what California Democrat Zoe Lofgren called an astounding number of conflicts of interest. Unified Democratic control of Congress would pose even greater challenges for him.
Silicon Valley Democrats added another target on Friday by focusing on restrictions for SpaceX’s Starshield satellite service in Ukraine. In a letter to the White House demanding an investigation, Representatives Sam Liccardo, Jimmy Panetta, and Ro Khanna vowed that the next Congress will closely scrutinize federal funding awarded to Musk’s businesses.
