Photo: Tesla Owners Club Belgium / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped)
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Elon Musk has committed roughly $366 million to the 2026 election cycle across at least 40 races, making him the biggest individual donor of the midterms so far, according to CNBC. His companies also hold billions of dollars in federal work.
According to CNBC, Elon Musk has pledged about $366 million toward the 2026 election cycle, spread across at least 40 races. As things stand, that places him as the largest individual donor in this year’s midterms.
At least $276 million of that has gone to Republican groups and his own America PAC since July, according to CNBC’s analysis of Federal Election Commission filings.
At least $189.6 million is aimed at helping elect Republican Ken Paxton in Texas. His Democratic opponent, James Talarico, accused Musk of trying to “buy this Senate seat in Texas.”
CNBC found that, through Oct. 20, America PAC had put about $22.7 million into general election spending across six other battleground states. Of that total, roughly $8.9 million went to Ohio, $7.2 million to Michigan and $2 million to Maine.
America PAC is backing Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. The panel helps write funding bills for NASA and the Pentagon.
Federal work
SpaceX has taken in $6.78 billion in federal work so far this year, through Oct. 1, according to the research firm FedScout. That compares with $3.97 billion in 2025 and $3.8 billion in all of 2024.
The political picture
CNBC reported that Democrats are favored to win the House, while the Senate is a toss-up. Musk did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
On Oct. 21, Musk posted on X about the possibility of Democrat-led investigations: “Live by the sword, die by the sword.”
Bruce Freed of the Center for Political Accountability told CNBC the spending is “virtually unprecedented in recent elections” for one individual donor.
Sources
What it means for you
- Texas Senate race: at least $189.6 million of Musk’s political money is aimed at electing Republican Ken Paxton, per CNBC.
- Control of Congress is in play. CNBC reports Democrats are favored to win the House and the Senate is a toss-up.
- Congress does not award SpaceX’s contracts, but it funds and oversees agencies that do, including the Defense Department and NASA, CNBC reported.
- Federal Election Commission filings through Oct. 20 show where America PAC is spending in Ohio, Michigan and Maine.