Musk Floods Texas Senate Race With $76 Million in Final Weeks

Elon Musk has accelerated his financial support for the midterm elections by injecting more than $76 million into his personal political committee, America PAC, during the first two weeks of October. This significant injection of capital, reported to the Federal Election Commission on Thursday, is part of a broader effort to bolster Republican candidates in the final stretch of the campaign. The filing details a surge in activity as the election approaches.

America PAC deployed nearly $43 million of its resources during this period. The group enters the final phase of the campaign with approximately $47 million in cash reserves. This financial firepower allows the committee to sustain high levels of spending across multiple contests, though the focus has clearly shifted toward key battleground states.

The Texas Senate race has become the primary target for this new expenditure. America PAC directed $15.2 million to this single contest, a figure that is double the amount spent in the state throughout the summer. Of that total, $12.4 million was allocated specifically to attack ads targeting Democratic candidate James Talarico. The remaining $2.8 million was used to promote his Republican opponent, Ken Paxton.

Recent daily filings indicate that the pressure on Talarico has intensified further. Since the initial report, an additional $9.1 million has been spent against the Democrat. This brings the total spending by America PAC against Talarico to nearly $28 million for the cycle. This amount represents roughly 40 percent of all the funds the group has used to support or oppose candidates. The committee has also shifted its strategy toward digital platforms, spending $11.4 million on online ads in the last two weeks, a sum nearly equal to its combined spending on mail and texting.

An analysis of Federal Election Commission data shows that Musk has contributed more than $445 million to Republican political groups in this election cycle. This makes him the largest known individual donor in the midterms. Over $165 million of that total has flowed into America PAC since July. The committee did not provide a comment on these figures.

Musk has also engaged in the race through social media. On Wednesday, he posted on X that there is something deeply wrong with Talarico, calling the candidate a creep. He further claimed without evidence that Talarico would vote to take away your kids and transition them. Earlier this month, Musk amplified a false claim that Talarico had been treated at a mental health facility. Talarico responded the same day by stating that there is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal US Senator.

The election remains highly competitive. An Emerson College poll of 1,000 likely Texas voters, conducted from October 17 to 19, shows Talarico leading by two points at 48 percent, while Paxton trails at 46 percent. This difference falls within the poll's margin of error of three points. The outcome is critical for Musk because a Democratic victory in the House would trigger investigations into his role in the Department of Government Efficiency, federal contracts held by his companies, and various conflicts of interest. Silicon Valley Democrats have also signaled they will scrutinize federal funding for SpaceX's Starshield service in Ukraine. If Democrats control both chambers, the legislative challenges for Musk could increase significantly.