Elon Musk funds $158 million for Paxton's Texas Senate bid as Talarico leads polls

A transfer that passed straight through

Federal filings released on Thursday, 15 October, show that Elon Musk sent $158 million in September to a super PAC that immediately moved the same amount to a group backing Ken Paxton's Senate bid in Texas. The money came in two gifts of $75 million and $83 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC for Republican senators. Each time, the fund wrote a check for the identical sum the following day to Texas Pac, a group it had set up to support Paxton.

The filings do not clearly show whether every forwarded dollar was Musk's own, but such sums would hardly have reached Paxton without his contributions. He also gave $10 million to a separate super PAC that bought television advertising for Paxton, and he has added millions more to his own super PAC active in the Texas contest.

Musk's wider spending on the midterms

Musk's giving to super PACs, the committees that collect donations and pass them on to campaigns and other groups, has now topped $366 million for the 2026 midterms. That already exceeds the $290 million he gave across the 2024 presidential campaign. The latest gifts make up only about 0.5% of his fortune.

Federal records reviewed by POLITICO show at least $276 million from Musk in the third quarter, the July to September period, which makes him the dominant spender of the cycle.

A Texas race where Talarico leads in polls

Democrat James Talarico, the party's nominee for Texas Senate, raised $64 million in the third quarter. Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio responded when he was told of the sum:

I mean, that's a number that's mind-blowing.

Polls currently put Talarico ahead of Paxton, who served as attorney general and faced an impeachment proceeding over corruption and abuse-of-office allegations. Musk's donations have allowed Paxton to stay financially competitive even though Talarico vastly outraised him. Musk is a Texas resident with substantial business interests in the state, and Republicans there worry about losing a statewide contest for the first time in more than thirty years.

Nationwide, Democrats lead in candidate fundraising

Filings for July through September show Democrats out-raising Republicans in many Senate and House races. In eight Senate contests expected to be most competitive in November, Democrats raised more through their main campaign committees than their Republican challengers. Republicans lean on outside groups instead, with super PACs and groups tied to Musk, Trump and big donors allowing the party to spend heavily despite higher ad rates.

POLITICO identifies three billionaires as the core of Republican megadonor giving. Richard Uihlein, a Midwestern shipping businessman, added $66 million to a super PAC active in federal and state races across the country, lifting his cycle total past $130 million. Jeff Yass, a Pennsylvania businessman, put $10 million into a super PAC backing Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign for Ohio governor, bringing his total donations this cycle above $105 million. POLITICO's review of FEC records puts the three men's federal contributions aimed at Republicans above $600 million.

Further outside-group filings are due in the week of 19 October, ahead of the 3 November midterms, when Republicans could lose their majorities in both the House and the Senate.