# Elon Musk Donates $158m to Boost Ken Paxton in Texas Senate Race

> Elon Musk's $158 million donation fuels Ken Paxton's Senate campaign in Texas after months of being outspent by Democrat James Talarico.
- Title: Elon Musk Donates $158m to Boost Ken Paxton in Texas Senate…
- Summary: Elon Musk's $158 million donation fuels Ken Paxton's Senate campaign in Texas after months of being outspent by Democrat James Talarico. Elon Musk donated…
- Keywords: elon musk, ken paxton, texas senate, senate leadership fund, james talarico, big tech, senate gop super pac, texas pac, political donations, senate race, texas politics, Elon
- Source: Texastribune — https://feeds.texastribune.org/link/16799/17498597/elon-musk-ken-paxton-donations-senate-gop-super-pac
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: elon musk, ken paxton, texas senate, senate leadership fund, james talarico, x, big tech, senate gop super pac, texas pac, political donations, senate race, texas politics
## Musk Funds Senate Race
Elon Musk donated $158 million to boost Ken Paxton's Senate campaign in Texas after months of being outspent by Democrat James Talarico.
## Musk's $190m Donation
Musk poured nearly $190 million into the U.S. Senate race in Texas, funding Senate Leadership Fund's efforts to support Paxton.
## First Donation to SLF
On Sept. 9, Musk gave $75 million to Senate Leadership Fund, the Senate GOP's main super PAC.
## Second Donation to SLF
Two days later, Musk gave an additional $83 million to SLF, which deposited the funds into Texas PAC the same day.
## SLF's Ad Spending
Senate Leadership Fund spent over $159 million on TV, radio, and digital ads in Texas, double Talarico's outlay.
## SLF's Strategy
SLF used Texas PAC to book airtime, targeting Paxton's work on sex trafficking and attacking Talarico as 'they/them, not you.'

> they/them, not you
## Paxton's Tech Focus
Paxton has taken on Big Tech giants including Netflix, WhatsApp, Discord, and Meta as attorney general.
## Paxton's X Investigation
Paxton investigated X (formerly Twitter) in 2022 for fake accounts and later bought the platform after Musk acquired it.
## Paxton's AI Probe
Paxton opened an investigation into World Federation of Advertisers for potential conspiracies to boycott social media services.
## Critics of Paxton
Critics accuse Paxton of turning a blind eye to X and Musk, despite his investigations into AI and Big Tech.
## Musk's Ground Game
Musk's America PAC spent $18.8 million on anti-Talarico messaging in Texas Senate races.
## Musk's Texas Business
Musk has moved many companies to Texas, including Tesla's headquarters in Austin and SpaceX near Brownsville.
## Musk's House Spending
Musk spent hundreds of millions in 2024 to boost Republicans, including Donald Trump's presidential bid.
## Paxton's Campaign Support
Paxton received $250,000 from oil billionaire Farris Wilks and $122,000 from Dallas Cowboys brass.
## Key takeaway

Elon Musk donated $158 million to help Ken Paxton's Senate campaign in Texas, overcoming James Talarico's fundraising lead.