Elon Musk’s politicaloperation is focused on the most consequential races of themidterm elections, according to a WIRED analysis of federal campaign finance data.
As of October 6, America PAC, the main Musk-affiliated super PAC, had deployed $21 million of the $26.7 million it has spent on this year’s races into seven key US Senate contests that are widely seen as close—if not toss-ups—and represent a path for Democrats to take control of the chamber this November.
To monitor America PAC’s spending in the midterms, WIRED has created a live tracker that updates daily and highlights where America PAC is putting money into the midterms, from individual races to Musk’s overall influence on the election season. It draws on America PAC’s filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which the agency processes daily and which lists all the payments America PAC has made for ads, mailers, and texts.
America PAC is smaller, and aimed differently, than it was two years ago. America PAC registered with the FEC in May 2024 and spent $261 million that cycle, with about 95 percent of its funding coming from Musk. The $26.7 million it has spent so far this year is about a third of the $85.9 million it had spent by the same point in 2024, when more than 90 percent of that money went to the presidential race and almost none to Senate races.
For this election cycle, most of America PAC’s spending has been concentrated on financing campaign efforts attacking Democrats, WIRED’s review shows. For every dollar spent supporting a Republican candidate, more than two went to opposing a Democrat, as of October 6. In Senate races, it was three.
The political stakes are especially high for Republicans this November because of the possibility of Democrats taking the majority in the US Senate, should the party flip four battleground races and retain three of the Senate seats it currently holds. The implications of a Democratic-controlled Senate would also be far-reaching for Musk in particular, who could become the target of congressional investigations, while his companies might be affected by bills related to tech and AI regulation.
In the most fraught Senate races, where the GOP has been on the back foot, the ratio of negative to positive campaign messaging has been even more skewed, the filings show.
