Elon Musk is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the US midterm elections, giving Republicans a major financial boost ahead of November’s vote. The world’s richest person has donated more than $445 million this election cycle, with millions going towards key Senate races and efforts to help Republicans win.
How much Musk has given
According to Bloomberg, Musk put $77 million into America PAC in the first two weeks of October, as per Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. The money is meant to help elect Republicans in the November midterm elections. These are projected to be the most expensive elections ever.
Musk restarted his PAC in July. Since then, he has given $355 million. That is an average of $3.6 million a day.
Musk is the world’s richest person. It puts his net worth at about $906 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His giving puts him well ahead of other big donors, including George Soros, Jeffrey Yass and Richard Uihlein.
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Republicans have a money lead
According to Bloomberg, the late Thursday filings give a final look at fundraising before Election Day. They show that Musk’s donations helped widen the big money gap that Republicans have had over Democrats.
Republicans have raised much more money than Democrats this election season.
The Republican Party, its congressional super PACs and President Donald Trump’s MAGA Inc. have raised $2.1 billion through October 14. Democrats’ matching committees have raised $1.4 billion.
This money lead is good news for Republicans. Trump’s approval rating has fallen to new lows this year, and voters blame him for rising fuel prices and other worries about the cost of living.
Where the money is going
No one has given more to the Republican war chest than Musk. His money has paid for a nine-figure effort to support Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. He also gave $1.5 million to a group trying to end Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, which would help Republicans.
As per Bloomberg, America PAC spent $43 million in the first two weeks of October. It ended that period with $46.5 million in cash. Since August, it has spent $43.2 million on canvassing and $8.8 million on digital media and texting to reach voters.
America PAC has spent $71 million in total to help Republicans in the midterms. This includes Senate races in Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and Maine. It has also spent money in more than 30 close House races. Much of it went on phone calls, texts and printed material like mailers and door hangers.
Ohio Senate race (Democrat Sherrod Brown vs Republican Jon Husted): $9.4 million
Michigan Senate race (Democrat Abdul El-Sayed vs Republican Mike Rogers): $8.6 million
The Texas Senate race
According to Bloomberg, Texas is where America PAC has spent the most. Musk’s businesses have major operations there. The PAC has spent $33.1 million in the Senate race between Paxton and Talarico.
As per Bloomberg, Musk gave $158 million in September to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC backing Republican Senate candidates. It sent that money to Texas PAC, a group focused on the Texas Senate race. Texas PAC has spent $181 million on the race since September 11.
This money has been a lifeline for Paxton, who has struggled to raise money after a hard primary fight with Senator John Cornyn.