Musk gives $158 million to Senate GOP group amid Texas race

Elon Musk gave $158 million in September to the main super PAC supporting Senate Republicans, injecting a large sum into a closely contested Texas race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico.

Federal Election Commission filings show Musk gave the Senate Leadership Fund $75 million on Sept. 9 and $83 million two weeks later, CBS News reported. Each time, the group sent an identical amount the following day to Texas PAC, which reported more than $100 million in spending supporting Paxton and opposing Talarico. Musk’s two donations accounted for more than half of the Senate Leadership Fund’s third-quarter receipts.

The Guardian also reported that Musk separately gave $10 million to Lone Star Liberty PAC, a committee dedicated to supporting Paxton, after Senate Leadership Fund president Alex Latcham requested the money. A person familiar with the matter confirmed the donation to the Guardian, which credited Axios with first reporting it.

The spending comes as Republicans seek to retain the Texas Senate seat. Recent polls show the candidates essentially tied, with some giving Talarico a narrow lead within the margin of error. Talarico is trying to become the first Democrat in more than three decades to win a statewide race in Texas.

Talarico raised $64 million in the third quarter, a record for a Senate candidate’s quarterly fundraising, according to Politico, as cited by the Guardian. Over the summer, he released an advertisement portraying Paxton as a politician with a history of corruption. CBS News reported that Talarico has also sought to capitalize on divisions among Texas Republicans after Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a bitter primary. Paxton and his allies, including President Donald Trump, argue that Talarico is too far to the left for Texas voters.

The Guardian reported that the Senate Leadership Fund had warned months earlier that supporting Paxton could cost $150 million to $200 million. Axios reported, according to the Guardian, that Musk stepped in after his team and the fund examined polling that showed Paxton’s chances of winning declining.

Musk gave more than $80 million from July through September to America PAC, his own political group, CBS News reported. The group has reported spending on the Texas Senate race and other competitive congressional contests. Musk, a Texas resident whose companies SpaceX and Tesla have substantial operations in the state, has strongly criticized Talarico in recent weeks, according to CBS News.

The donations mark a return to large-scale political giving after Musk said in May 2025 that he expected to spend “a lot less” on politics. The New York Times reported, according to the Guardian, that Musk has given about $366 million to federal committees in the 2025-2026 election cycle, compared with about $290 million during the 2024 cycle.

Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for America PAC, said the investments had allowed Republicans to get their message out and have “a fighting chance to defy history.” He warned that Democratic victories in November could put the country at risk of becoming “socialist, woke and borderless.”