# Musk becomes biggest GOP donor ahead of midterms

> After saying he'd spend less on politics, Elon Musk has donated $366 million for the 2026 election cycle, mostly to Republican groups.
- Title: Musk becomes biggest GOP donor ahead of midterms · TIME
- Summary: After saying he'd spend less on politics, Elon Musk has donated $366 million for the 2026 election cycle, mostly to Republican groups. Elon Musk has become…
- Keywords: elon musk, political spending, republican groups, 2026 midterms, super pac, campaign finance, Musk, becomes, biggest, GOP, donor, ahead
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/10/13/elon-musk-political-campaign-spending-trump-republicans
- Author: Chad de Guzman
- Published: 2026-10-13T10:30:04.364+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: elon musk, political spending, republican groups, 2026 midterms, super pac, campaign finance
## Musk reverses course on political spending
Elon Musk said in May last year he planned much less political spending for future elections. But newly disclosed donations now make him the biggest known donor ahead of November's midterms.
## Three hundred sixty six million dollars in one cycle
For the twenty twenty six election cycle, which began in January twenty twenty five, Musk has already spent three hundred sixty six million dollars, of which more than two hundred seventy six million went to…
## Senate Leadership Fund gets largest share
One hundred fifty eight million dollars reportedly went to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super P A C tasked with helping Republicans maintain their majority in the chamber.
## America P A C targets swing states and House races
Musk's America P A C, created for the twenty twenty four elections, received over seventy six million dollars to reach Republican voters and boost turnout.
## Other Republican groups receive millions
Ten million dollars went to the Lone Star Liberty P A C backing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's U S Senate campaign.
## Musk's political evolution from Democrat to Republican
In twenty fifteen, Musk donated five thousand dollars to Hillary Clinton's campaign and five thousand to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
## May twenty twenty five statement proved premature
As Musk stepped down from the Trump Administration in May twenty twenty five, he said he thought he had done enough political spending.

> If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I do not currently see a reason.
## Musk targets lawmakers over spending bill votes
In twenty twenty five, Musk threatened to help defeat lawmakers who voted for the Trump Administration's spending bill, vowing to help make them lose their primaries.He even suggested supporting Rep.
## Democrats threaten investigations if they gain power
House Democrats have called for probes into Musk's companies' government contracts worth tens of billions of dollars and his work running D O G E.
## Key takeaway

Elon Musk has become the largest known donor ahead of November's midterms, giving $366 million to Republican groups after previously saying he would spend far less on politics.