Elon Musk has donated more than $365 million to the upcoming United States midterm elections, making him the largest individual contributor in a federal cycle since 2010. Of that total, Musk provided $278 million since 1 July.
The Republican Senate Leadership Fund used $158 million of Musk's September donations to back Ken Paxton. Over $1.5 billion has been contributed by the 15 largest donors in the current election cycle.
Michael Beckel, director of money in politics reform at bipartisan advocacy organisation Issue One, said, "We're on track to have the most expensive midterm elections in US history." Marc Andreessen and Benjamin Horowitz spent more than $113 million, including $50 million to the pro-AI super PAC Leading the Future.
The pair also gave $46.8 million to Fairshake and $12 million to the Make America Great Again (MAGA) Inc super PAC. Ripple Labs and co-founder Chris Larsen contributed over $68 million, while Coinbase donated nearly $57 million.
One Nation provided almost $138 million to the Republican Senate Leadership Fund. The American Action Network gave more than $64 million to the Republican Congressional Leadership Fund.
Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein supported Republicans with over $135 million this cycle. George Soros contributed at least $102 million, while Miriam Adelson gave nearly $67 million to various Republican PACs.
Jeff Yass donated $109 million so far, and Paul Singer gave over $52 million to Republican groups. Michael Bloomberg spent $52.6 million to date, with his team stating he will spend an additional $80 million during September and October.
Shanna Ports, Senior Legal Counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, said, "Dark money spending has been increasing year over year, and it is a troubling trend because voters should be able to know who is financing the ads that they see."
