Elon Musk Donates Millions to Boost Texas Republican Senate Candidate

Billionaire Elon Musk donated $158 million last month to the main super PAC supporting Senate Republicans, which quickly sent the funds to a group backing Texas GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton. Federal Election Commission filings show Musk gave $75 million to the Senate Leadership Fund PAC on September 9 and another $83 million two weeks later. These two massive donations made up more than half of the super PAC's total receipts in the third quarter of this year. One day after each donation, the Senate Leadership Fund PAC passed the exact same amount to Texas PAC, a group that reported over $100 million in pro-Paxton and anti-Talarico spending. Republicans are fighting hard to keep the Texas Senate seat as polls show a tight race between Paxton and his Democratic opponent, James Talarico. Talarico is trying to become the first Democrat to win a statewide race in Texas in more than thirty years. He has highlighted Paxton's history of scandal and lingering party divides after Paxton beat incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn in a bitter primary. Paxton, along with allies like Donald Trump, argues that Talarico is too far left for Texas voters. Recent polls show Talarico with a lead that sits within the margin of error, and a Republican loss could severely hurt the party's efforts to hold the Senate. Musk's latest contributions mark a major return to heavy political spending after he backed President Trump and other Republicans with over a quarter of a billion dollars in 2024. Aside from his donations to the Senate Leadership Fund, Musk gave more than $80 million between July and September to his own group, America PAC, which spent money on the Texas Senate race and other competitive congressional contests. A trust belonging to the billionaire also gave $10 million in August to the pro-Paxton Lone Star Liberty PAC and $20 million last month to the Congressional Leadership Fund, the main House GOP super PAC. Musk lives in Texas, and his major companies, SpaceX and Tesla, run many of their operations in the state.

Context

Federal Election Commission filings provide public records of political donations and spending in United States elections. Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited sums of money to support political candidates, provided they do not coordinate directly with the campaigns. Texas has long been a Republican stronghold, making any competitive statewide race by a Democrat a notable event in national politics.