Elon Musk-backed super PAC spends $800,000 to back GOP midterm candidates

Elon Musk’s super PAC disclosed Wednesday that it spent over $800,000 last month to help Republican Senate and House candidates in competitive races, the bulk of it in Texas and Maine, where Republicans are defending Senate seats.

The August spending by America PAC is likely just the opening salvo for the world’s wealthiest person, who spent hundreds of millions of dollars supporting President Trump and other Republican candidates in 2024. Musk authorized his super PAC to spend over $100 million to help Republicans in November, according to The New York Times.

The disclosure lists spending for independent expenditures for just August. It was directed toward nearly all of the expected competitive Senate races this cycle: Texas ($247,595), Maine ($170,224.29), Ohio ($105,675), New Hampshire ($91,458.50), Iowa ($54,600), Michigan ($25,605) and Alaska ($17,235).

Republican incumbents and candidates in competitive House districts in Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida and Wisconsin also saw spending from America PAC.

House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed to CBS News that he had met with Musk during a campaign swing in Texas, where several House districts are in play, in addition to a competitive Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico. He declined to say whether he spoke with Musk about spending to help Republicans in the midterms. 

“He’s made public a lot of what he’s doing. I’m going to talk about our conversation on that point, but we’re gonna win the midterms,” he said. 

All of the spending disclosed on Wednesday was categorized for “PRINTING,” suggesting it was for mail advertisements. It was signed off by Chris Young, a GOP operative and former employee of the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency whom Musk hired in 2024 to oversee America PAC and coordinate spending.

Separately, America PAC had spent over $207,000 on digital ads in Texas, Michigan, New Hampshire and Maine, according to advertisement tracking firm AdImpact and Facebook ad library records. Most are general reminders to vote, though one features New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

“You couldn’t vote in his election, and socialism declared victory over America’s biggest city. If you don’t vote in November, socialism could declare victory over America,” it read.

America PAC spent over $239 million to help Republican candidates in 2024. Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, was the largest donor in the 2024 cycle for either party, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Asked in an interview last year if he was planning on continuing to spend at the same clip, Musk said: “I think in terms of political spending, I’m going to do a lot less in the future.”

“I think I’ve done enough,” he said.