Elon Musk has funneled $158 million into a super PAC backing Ken Paxton’s razor-thin Texas Senate race, a massive late-cycle infusion aimed at holding Republican majorities.
Federal election filings show the Tesla and SpaceX CEO moved the money in two September bursts through the Senate Leadership Fund, which then sent matching sums the next day to a Texas PAC supporting the attorney general’s bid. The Hill reported Musk stood as the sole donor to that Texas PAC in the third quarter.
Paxton, a Republican, is locked in a tight contest with Democrat James Talarico for the seat now held by GOP Sen. John Cornyn. The cash arrives as Republicans work to keep their majorities in Congress and as Paxton faces a clear fundraising gap against his opponent.
On Sept. 9, Musk gave $75 million to the Senate Leadership Fund. The group, backed by Senate Republican leadership, disbursed the same amount to the Texas PAC on Sept. 10. Two weeks later, on Sept. 23, Musk sent another $83 million to the fund. It moved that sum to the Texas PAC on Sept. 24.
Axios first flagged those Senate Leadership Fund transfers. The pattern is simple and fast: donor to leadership fund, leadership fund to the state vehicle backing Paxton the following day.
Musk-backed America PAC has spent $7.5 million so far this year to support Paxton and oppose Talarico, according to the new filings. That independent spending sits on top of the $158 million routed through the Senate Leadership Fund path.
America PAC spokesperson Andrew Romeo framed the stakes in blunt terms.
"If Democrats take control of Washington and win key gubernatorial and attorney general races this November, then America risks becoming a socialist, woke and borderless country,"
Romeo told the New York Times in a statement later confirmed by The Hill. He added that the money is meant to give Republicans a real shot in a difficult cycle.
"These robust investments have allowed the GOP apparatus to get its message out so Republicans can have a fighting chance to defy history,"
Romeo said. The message lands as national party strategists watch Texas closely for control of the Senate.
Earlier coverage had already flagged the scale of the Texas fight. Paxton has warned that losing Texas would hand Democrats the chamber, underscoring why outside money is pouring into the race.
The New York Times had previously put Musk’s total giving this cycle near $366 million, making him the biggest known donor of the 2026 midterms. That figure tracks with a broader push to protect Republican majorities after earlier signals he might scale back political spending.
Breitbart reported Musk has donated more than $276 million since July alone, including the $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, further funds to America PAC turnout work, and additional Texas-related spending. Those sums rank among the largest known political donations in recent U.S. history.
Musk’s Texas footprint is not only political. SpaceX’s industrial complex sits in the state, Starbase incorporated as a city last year, The Boring Company is based in San Antonio, and he is developing a semiconductor and AI compute facility in Grimes County. Business ties and ballot fights now run on parallel tracks.
The same donor is already testing other Senate maps. The Washington Examiner detailed a $10 million Musk gift to the Fight for Kentucky super PAC backing pro-Trump candidate Nate Morris in the race to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell. That check followed a conversation in which Musk took interest in Morris’s pro-business, anti-establishment pitch and signaled heavier midterm spending ahead.
Party cash dynamics have Democrats watching the calendar. Schumer has fretted over a late Republican money surge in the final stretch before Election Day, a worry that tracks with the size of the checks now hitting Texas and other battlegrounds.
Paxton entered the general election well behind Talarico in direct fundraising. The New York Post reported Talarico had raised $68.6 million compared with Paxton’s $9.2 million, even as the race sat in toss-up territory. Musk was then expected to spend between $100 million and $200 million boosting Republicans, with Texas high on the list and get-out-the-vote work a likely use of the cash. Musk had already spent at least $288 million helping Trump and Republicans in 2024, mostly through America PAC.
Those projections are now meeting hard filings. The $158 million September path through the Senate Leadership Fund, plus America PAC’s $7.5 million year-to-date Texas spend, puts real money against the gap Paxton faces on the ground.
America PAC’s activity started earlier and smaller before the September mega-transfers. Fox News reported the group spent just over $800,000 between Aug. 19 and Aug. 31 supporting Republican candidates, with nearly $248,000 concentrated in the Texas Senate race for Paxton and against Talarico. Additional early outlays hit Maine’s Senate race and contests in Michigan, Ohio, New Hampshire, and competitive House districts.
Primary scars and poll numbers have kept the Texas contest unstable. A Fox News poll earlier showed Paxton trailing as GOP divisions lingered after a bruising primary, one reason outside groups treat the race as a must-hold.
Trail controversies have also kept the matchup in the news. Trump and Paxton have pressed Talarico over stretches away from the campaign trail, including a flu-related absence that drew public demands for proof he was still in the fight.
Voters will decide in November whether the money and the message close the gap. Until then, the filings show one clear fact: Musk is writing historic checks to keep Texas and the Senate map from flipping.
When one donor can move $158 million in two weeks to defend a single Senate seat, the old rules about who sets the terms of a midterm no longer apply, and Republicans finally have the cash to match the stakes.