Musk Floods Texas Senate Race With $76 Million In Final Stretch

For voters in Texas, the final two weeks of the election have been defined by a sudden surge of money and messaging. Elon Musk’s political committee, America PAC, injected over $76 million into the campaign during the first half of October. According to a pre-election report filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday evening, this fresh capital is being deployed to boost Republican candidates as the midterm elections approach their conclusion.

The financial commitment translates directly into visible campaign activity. In that same two-week period, the group spent nearly $43 million. As they enter the final leg of the race, they hold nearly $47 million in cash reserves. This level of late-stage spending is unusual in its scale, effectively allowing the campaign to outspend its opponents significantly in the critical days before polls close.

The Texas Senate race has absorbed the bulk of these new resources. The PAC allocated $15.2 million to this specific contest, a sum that is double what they spent in the state during the entire summer. Of that total, $12.4 million was directed at attacking Democratic candidate James Talarico, while $2.8 million was used to promote Republican Ken Paxton. Daily filings indicate an additional $9.1 million has since been spent against Talarico, bringing the total cycle spending against him to nearly $28 million.

This expenditure against Talarico now accounts for approximately 40 percent of all money the PAC has spent supporting or opposing candidates this cycle. The strategy has also shifted tactically toward digital platforms. In the same two-week window, the group spent $11.4 million on online ads. This figure is nearly equivalent to their combined spending on mailers and text messages, marking a significant pivot in how the campaign reaches voters.

Musk’s personal financial footprint in this election is now the largest known for any individual donor. Analysis of Federal Election Commission filings shows he has given more than $445 million to Republican political groups this cycle. Over $165 million of that total has flowed to America PAC since July. The PAC declined to comment on the new filings or the spending strategy.

Beyond the money, Musk has actively engaged in the digital discourse surrounding the race. On Wednesday, he posted on the platform X that “there is something deeply wrong with Talarico,” later describing him as “a creep.” He also claimed, without providing evidence, that Talarico “would vote to take away your kids and transition them.” Earlier in the month, Musk amplified a false claim regarding Talarico’s mental health treatment. Talarico responded on the same day, stating, “There is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal US Senator.”

Despite the heavy spending, the race remains statistically close. An Emerson College poll of 1,000 likely Texas voters, conducted between October 17 and 19, shows Talarico leading with 48 percent support compared to 46 percent for Paxton. This margin falls within the poll’s three-point margin of error, indicating a toss-up contest that could be decided by small shifts in voter turnout or persuasion.

The outcome of the midterms carries significant implications for Musk beyond the Texas Senate seat. If Democrats gain control of the House, committee leaders have indicated they will investigate his role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), his companies’ federal contracts, and various conflicts of interest. California Democrat Zoe Lofgren described the number of these conflicts as “astounding.”

Silicon Valley Democrats have also set their sights on specific business interests. In a letter to the White House filed on Friday, Representatives Sam Liccardo, Jimmy Panetta, and Ro Khanna demanded an investigation into SpaceX’s Starshield satellite service in Ukraine. They vowed that the next Congress “will closely scrutinize federal funding awarded to Mr. Musk’s businesses,” signaling that the financial stakes of the election extend well beyond the legislative chamber.