Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings obtained by Bloomberg show SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gave more than $445 million during the current U.S. election cycle, including $77 million to America PAC in the first half of October.
The Independent reported that $71 million supported Republican Senate candidates in Ohio, Michigan, Texas, Iowa and Maine. In Texas, the outlet said Musk’s PAC spent $33.1 million on the contest between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The report did not identify that committee as America PAC. President Donald Trump has also backed Paxton and appeared with him earlier this month, The Independent reported.
Records posted on X by The New York Times reporter Teddy Schleifer list Musk as the source of a $158 million September donation to the Senate Leadership Fund. Another entry records a transfer of the same amount from the fund to a Texas political committee linked to Paxton.
EconoTimes previously covered Musk’s third-quarter political spending, including Reuters’ report of a $158 million contribution to the Senate Leadership Fund. The latest filings put his election-cycle total above $445 million as the midterms approach.
A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll of 2,545 people, conducted Oct. 9-13, found 66% disapproved of Trump’s handling of the presidency and 33% approved. On congressional control, 59% favored Democratic leadership as a way to limit the president’s power. For cost-of-living issues, 38% said they trusted Democrats more, compared with 24% for Republicans.
The Independent connected Republicans’ electoral standing to frustration over the Iran war and household expenses. In a separate CNN/SSRS survey from mid-September, 70% of respondents said the Iran war had left the United States worse off, while 76% judged its costs to American lives and government as too high. The midterms will be the next electoral test for the candidates receiving this support.
