US Midterms 2026: Elon Musk spent a record sum backing Republicans. Democrats still won House, Senate and Texas and he's in danger

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan Senate campaign framed the US midterm elections as "the many versus the money". With results out, the many appear to have won. Elon Musk, the world's richest person, poured nearly half a billion dollars into Republican candidates and causes. Still, the Democrats took control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate on November 3.

How much did Elon Musk spend on the 2026 midterms?

Musk gave $445.6 million this cycle, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings up to 14 October. The figure includes money from United States of America Inc, a nonprofit he controls. Other tallies - like a New York Times report- put it at about $474 million, counting later donations and groups that do not file with the FEC. That makes Musk the largest individual donor in modern US election history, having spent nearly three times as much as the next-biggest donor.

The wider Midterms cycle of 2026 was the costliest election on record. OpenSecrets projected total spending of nearly $12 billion, much of it from the wealthiest donors.

Where did Musk's money go?

Texas received the largest share. America PAC, the super PAC Musk founded, received $216 million. It ran Republican turnout and field operations, including a major ground campaign in Texas. The Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC for Senate Republicans, received $168 million. Filings showed $158 million of that went to Texas PAC, the biggest group backing Ken Paxton's Senate bid.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, which backs House Republicans, received $30 million.

Musk's trust gave $10 million to Lone Star Liberty PAC, the main outside group supporting Paxton. In all, Musk spent more than $200 million only to help Paxton. He also gave $5 million to Governor Greg Abbott, and backed groups active in Kentucky and Alaska.

The Texas play that didn't work

Texas delivered the sharpest blow to Musk's money. Democrat James Talarico defeated Paxton, the state's attorney general, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Texas since 1988. He had specifically campaigned against billionaire influence in politics and named Musk directly. Democrat Gina Hinojosa unseated Republican governor Greg Abbott, who was seeking a fourth term.

How did Musk react?

In the early hours of Wednesday, Musk posted on X, the platform he owns: "Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time."

He added: "Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now." This was a reference to Hinojosa, who had opposed data centre expansion in Texas.

Trump's pardon pledge for Musk

A day before the vote, President Donald Trump said he would "protect" Musk if a Democratic Congress investigated him. Asked on the New York Post's Pod Force One podcast about talk of probes or asset seizures, Trump said: "It's talk. But if it is talk, we'll have to protect them."

Trump said he would consider pre-emptive pardons for Musk and other aides, including former staff of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Musk led in the early months of Trump's second term, in 2025.

What risks does Musk now face?

Democrats have floated probes into possible conflicts of interest involving SpaceX, Tesla and Musk's DOGE role. His companies had won several federal contracts during Trump's second term, including a $5.9 billion SpaceX deal. Musk has warned he will fight any such investigation.

Texas is home to SpaceX's Starbase launch site, Tesla's headquarters and Gigafactory in Austin, and The Boring Company in Bastrop. A Democratic governor sceptical of data centres could bring tougher scrutiny of Musk's expansion plans in the state.