Musk's America PAC Has Put $24.8 Million Into Seven Senate Races, Mostly Against Democrats

Elon Musk's super PAC has gone from near silence to a major presence in the fight for the Senate in a few months.

As of October 6, America PAC had deployed $24.8 million of the $31 million it has spent on this year's races into seven Senate contests widely seen as close or toss-ups, according to a WIRED analysis of federal campaign finance data. WIRED also found the group has spent almost three dollars attacking Democrats for every dollar it spends supporting Republican Senate candidates.

From $87,000 to $31 million

The ramp-up is sharp. FactCheck.org reports that as of June 30, America PAC had raised more than $50.3 million for the 2026 cycle, almost all of it from Musk or his United States of America Inc. It had spent only about $87,000 on independent expenditures, backing two Republicans who won Florida special elections in April 2025.

In May 2025, Musk told an economic forum he planned to "do a lot less" political spending and said, "I think I've done enough."

In July, the New York Times reported, citing two anonymous people briefed on the plans, that Musk had authorized $100 million to $120 million for a field program in at least eight states. Axios reported the effort is led by Republican operative Chris Young and aims to turn out conservative-base voters who often skip midterms. The Times said the PAC is coordinating with Americans for Prosperity and the Sentinel Action Fund.

The $31 million spent so far is well below that reported figure. America PAC spent $261.2 million in the 2024 cycle, more than half of it on electing Donald Trump.

Where the money is going

Texas. America PAC has spent more than $9.4 million opposing Democrat James Talarico and roughly $1.8 million backing Republican Ken Paxton, the state attorney general. Its largest single expenditures are two $1.3 million digital buys against Talarico. It has put nothing into television, which is being handled by others. MAGA Inc., the Trump-aligned super PAC, is one of them. Punchbowl News reported last month that the Senate Republican Conference-affiliated Texas PAC has booked around $120 million in ads.

Ohio. The PAC has spent $3.3 million against Democrat Sherrod Brown and $1.6 million for Republican Sen. Jon Husted. Brown lost his seat to Bernie Moreno by 3.5 points in 2024. He is trying to win back working-class voters in places like Mahoning County, which Obama carried by nearly 30 points in 2012 and where Moreno won by just 220 votes two years ago. Brown is running on economic frustration, the war in Iran and the spread of AI data centers.

Iowa. America PAC has spent $1.5 million against Democrat Josh Turek and about $100,000 for Republican Ashley Hinson. By WIRED's count that is 14 times more spent attacking Turek than supporting Hinson, the widest gap on its tracker.

The data center problem in Ohio

Husted has struggled to shake his association with data centers, according to WIRED. He has been linked to a planned Nvidia project in Ohio that OpenAI would lease, and to his past support for such projects as a state official. WIRED reported that a memo from the Senate Republicans' campaign arm in August said Brown's attacks were tying an anchor around Husted's polling.

At an Ohio rally this week, Trump said of data centers, "We want them." Husted's campaign responded that it should be a "local decision."

The transgender-issue ads

A number of the ads the PAC has run attack Democratic Senate candidates over transgender issues, FactCheck.org reports. Citing the ad-tracking firm AdImpact, it says America PAC had spent more than $3.7 million, mostly on digital or streaming ads, as of September 23.

People's World, a left-leaning outlet, says ads in America PAC's Meta and Google advertiser pages name Talarico, Michigan candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Brown. It calls the campaign anti-trans bigotry and cites Musk's past statements on the issue.

Musk has described the PAC's purpose differently. In July 2024 he said its idea is "to promote the principles that make America great in the first place," and he wrote on X that its key values are "supporting a meritocracy & individual freedom."

What Musk has at stake

The Senate map gives Democrats a plausible path to a majority if they flip four battleground seats. A Democratic Senate could subject Musk personally to congressional investigations and bring tech and AI regulation that affects his companies. Musk has not been quoted linking his spending to those concerns.

Attack-heavy spending is common in both parties. Parties and outside groups have long focused on tearing down opponents. In Texas, where Paxton and Trump both carry poor approval ratings, there may be little to gain from positive ads.

Election Day is November 3. Pre-election campaign finance reports should show whether America PAC's spending moves toward the $100 million to $120 million the Times reported, or stays near the $31 million it has logged so far.