New York, USA – Elon Musk has spent roughly $366 million in the 2026 U.S. midterm election cycle so far, $276 million of it since July to help Republicans retain control of Congress, even as Democrats’ chances of retaking the U.S. House and Senate have improved. Musk’s largesse, which was reported earlier by the New York Times, makes the world’s richest person likely the single-biggest political donor in this year’s races, according to campaign finance records.
There is a lot at stake for Musk with Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives calling for investigations into his government contracts as CEO of aerospace company SpaceX, as well as his work running the Department of Government Efficiency under President Donald Trump. A breakdown of his political spending, confirmed by a spokesman for his super PAC America PAC, shows that of the $276 million in third-quarter donations, $158 million went to the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune. Another $20 million went to the Congressional Leadership Fund, aligned with House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Musk also directed $76 million to his America PAC, $10 million to the Lone Star Liberty PAC supporting Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Senate run in Texas, $10 million to the Republican Governors Association, and $2 million to the Republican Attorneys General Association. America PAC is helping Republican candidates in seven battleground states and nearly three dozen House races. The new giving will be publicly disclosed when many super PACs are required to disclose their third-quarter spending on Thursday.
Musk has also donated more money through groups that do not disclose their donors, according to the New York Times report. Roughly $90 million spent this cycle paid for work done in the prior election or supported other issues, including an unsuccessful candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and a controversial program paying $1 million to registered voters who signed a petition supporting free speech and gun rights, according to an America PAC spokesman. Musk spent roughly $290 million during the last election cycle in which Trump won the presidential election race against former Vice President Kamala Harris.
