Musk Gave $158 Million to Senate Republicans’ Super PAC as Money Flowed to Texas

Elon Musk gave $158 million in September to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC working to keep the Senate in Republican hands, according to federal campaign filings made public on Thursday and reported by CBS News, the Associated Press and other outlets.

The filings show two donations: $75 million on September 9 and $83 million about two weeks later. On the day after each gift, the Senate Leadership Fund sent the same amount to Texas PAC, a group backing Republican Ken Paxton in the race for the open Senate seat in Texas. Together, Musk’s contributions made up more than half of the super PAC’s receipts for the third quarter, CBS News and TheWrap reported.

The filings do not prove that Musk’s money was earmarked for Texas, and super PAC officials had said publicly that they were raising new money for a pro-Paxton effort. But the timing has drawn attention because Texas PAC has become the largest outside player in the race. It reported more than $100 million in spending on ads supporting Paxton and attacking his Democratic opponent, state Representative James Talarico, according to CBS News and TheWrap.

Musk’s giving did not stop there. His trust gave $10 million in August to Lone Star Liberty PAC, another group supporting Paxton, the AP and CBS News reported, and he put more than $80 million into his own America PAC between July and September. CBS News also reported a $20 million gift to the Congressional Leadership Fund, the main super PAC for House Republicans.

The race has become one of the most closely watched of the midterms. Paxton, the state’s attorney general, defeated Senator John Cornyn in a bitter Republican primary earlier this year. He was impeached by the Texas House in 2023 and acquitted by the state Senate. Talarico, a seminarian and state lawmaker, is trying to become the first Democrat to win a statewide race in Texas in more than three decades. Recent polls show a close contest, CBS News reported, and the AP reported that Talarico has outpaced Paxton in fundraising by his own campaign.

At a rally in San Marcos on Thursday, Talarico cast himself as an underdog facing wealthy opponents, the AP reported, telling supporters they were going up against their own Goliaths. President Trump has made several trips to Texas to rally for Paxton, the AP reported.

Musk spent more than $250 million backing Trump and other Republicans in 2024, then feuded publicly with the president after leaving the Department of Government Efficiency and suggested he would scale back his political spending. The new filings show that pause is over.

Musk’s allies argue the spending is a defense of their policy priorities, not a purchase. Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for America PAC, told CBS News that if Democrats win control of Washington and key state offices, the country risks becoming what he called a socialist, woke and borderless nation. Paxton and his supporters, including Trump, argue that Talarico is too liberal for Texas.

Critics of the current campaign finance system see the filings as a case study in how a single donor can shape a race through layers of committees. Because super PACs may accept unlimited sums, the law allows such gifts as long as the groups do not coordinate directly with candidates. Voters in Texas will decide on November 3 whether the money was well spent.