Elon Musk emerges as top donor in US midterm polls with $366 million funding

The barrage of spending comes as Republicans fight to overcome Trump’s declining popularity and cost of living concerns.

4 min readOct 13, 2026 09:14 AM IST First published on: Oct 13, 2026 at 09:06 AM IST

President Donald Trump with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House. (AP Photo)

Elon Musk has put about $366 million into the 2026 US midterm elections, with $276 million of it given since July to help Republicans hold on to Congress, according to the New York Times. Campaign finance records suggest this makes him the biggest single donor in this year’s races.

The money comes at a time when the Democrats’ chances of winning back the House and the Senate are rising. Voters go to the polls on November 3.

Where the money went

The New York Times first reported the figures. News agency Reuters reported that a spokesman for Musk’s super political action committee (PAC), America PAC, confirmed them. The $366 million covers the whole election cycle, which began on January 1, 2025.

Of the $276 million given since July:

• $158 million went to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC that works to elect Republicans to the Senate. It is aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
• $76 million went to America PAC, Musk’s own group.
• $20 million went to the Congressional Leadership Fund, which backs House Republicans and is aligned with Speaker Mike Johnson.
• $10 million went to the Lone Star Liberty PAC, which backs Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his Senate run. Reuters said recent polls show Paxton level with Democrat James Talarico.
• $10 million went to the Republican Governors Association.
• $2 million went to the Republican Attorneys General Association.

America PAC is helping Republican candidates in seven swing states and nearly three dozen House races. Many super PACs must file their third-quarter spending reports on Thursday, October 15, when the new gifts will become public.

Gifts that do not show donor names

Musk has also given money to groups that do not have to name their donors, the New York Times reported. An America PAC spokesman told the paper that about $90 million of the cycle’s spending paid for work done in the last election or went to other causes. These included a failed bid for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and a scheme that paid $1 million to registered voters who signed a petition backing free speech and gun rights.

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Musk spent about $290 million in the last cycle, when Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris for the White House.

What Musk’s camp and the Democrats say

America PAC spokesman Andrew Romeo told the Times the spending helps Republicans get their message out so they have a chance to “defy history”. The party in power at the White House has often lost seats in midterm votes.

Democrats say the money will not be enough. Lauren French, a spokesperson for the Democrats’ Senate Majority PAC, said Republicans are trying to “buy these elections” because of an “unpopular president”. Al Jazeera, which carried the story, said Trump’s low rating and the rising cost of living are weighing on Republican candidates.

Why it matters to Musk

Reuters reported Musk has a lot at stake. Democrats in the House have called for inquiries into his government contracts as chief executive of SpaceX and into his work running the Department of Government Efficiency under Trump.

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His donations also goes against what he said earlier. In May, Musk said he had “done enough” in US politics, and that he had no plans for big spending. Musk became the world’s first trillionaire in June, when SpaceX listed its shares on the Nasdaq.

Republicans already hold an edge in money. The pro-Trump group MAGA Inc had $416 million in the bank as of August.

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