By NYA Editorial Staff
Elon Musk is spending an extraordinary amount of money to influence America’s midterm elections. According to Reuters, the billionaire entrepreneur has contributed $366 million during the 2026 election cycle, including $276 million since July, to help Republicans retain control of Congress.
The spending makes Musk the largest individual political donor in this upcoming election. Musk’s contributions are widely distributed. Reuters reports that $158 million went to the Senate Leadership Fund, which supports Republican Senate candidates, while $20 million went to the Congressional Leadership Fund, supporting House Republicans. Another $76 million went to Musk’s America PAC, which is working in seven battleground states and nearly three dozen congressional races.
Additional contributions went to Republican governors, attorneys general, and a Texas Senate campaign. Musk spent approximately $290 million during the previous election cycle, making his combined political expenditures across two cycles more than $650 million.
Musk heads SpaceX, a major federal contractor, and previously headed the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. His companies depend heavily on federal decisions, and this spending helps elect the officials responsible for making those decisions. While it creates the potential for corruption, his donations are perfectly legal due to the Citizens United legal ruling allowing essentially unlimited funding of political campaigns by businesses and companies doing business with the government.