Candidates Backed by Musk's PAC Lost All Five Top Senate Races
Elon Musk's record election spending backed Republicans who lost the Senate races where his main PAC spent most. He now faces Democrats in the House, in the Senate and across the Texas government.
Elon Musk put at least $446m into Republican-aligned groups this midterm season, a spending record. Democrats beat his candidates in every one of the five Senate races where his America Pac spent the most.
Where the money went
The SpaceX and Tesla chief executive gave to at least eight Republican-aligned super PACs. His 2024 total was nearly $290m, so this year's figure is well above it.
The biggest single donation, at least $216m, went to his own America Pac. Another $168m went to the Senate Leadership Fund, which backed candidates including Texas Republican Ken Paxton.
Texas was the main target
Texas drew most of his attention. America Pac spent at least $28m on ads and messaging against Democrat James Talarico alone. Musk also attacked him on X. One post read: "Talarico wants to trans your kids and destroy the border."
Talarico won by a wide margin. Republicans also lost the governor's office in Texas and are expected to give up the state house.
In his victory speech, Talarico said: "We just proved that all the money in the world is no match for the people of Texas."
Senate races in Michigan, Maine, Ohio and Iowa also went to Democrats, even though America Pac had put tens of millions behind Republicans there. Its ads leaned on transgender rights and on branding Democrats radical socialists.
On election night Musk was unusually quiet. He joked on X that data centers in space looked appealing, and said little else.
What the new Congress could mean for his companies
His companies have won federal contracts under the Trump administration and benefited from its light-touch approach to AI regulation. In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott and the legislature have been friendly ground for him, passing laws his lobbyists backed.
That may change. Gina Hinojosa, the incoming Democratic governor, has called for a data center moratorium. She is also in a legal fight over unredacted emails between Abbott's office and Musk.
House Democrats want investigations into his conduct while he led the so-called department of government efficiency last year. They also plan to scrutinize federal funding for his companies.
His spending still left a mark. It produced some of the most expensive races in US history and may set a benchmark for the 2028 presidential contest.
Our View
The result separates two questions: whether the money moved voters, and what Musk now faces from the officials who won. Early signs may come from whether House Democrats open the investigations they have called for, and whether Hinojosa gets the Musk-Abbott emails in her legal fight.
Source: the Guardian