Elon Musk's 2026 midterm money: every dollar, tracked

A Senate money story: where Elon Musk's 2026 midterm money went, built from Federal Election Commission filings. The page separates what the filings already confirm (cash to super PACs, in-kind contributions attributed to Musk on a committee's own reports, shown as their own labeled line, and direct gifts to Republican candidates) from what his representatives reported to The New York Times on October 12, 2026 and the recipients' quarterly reports, due October 15, 2026, have yet to show. Each reported figure is checked against the filings as they post and marked confirmed, not found, or different, with the filing cited.

The investigation covers every recipient committee with its FEC ID, amounts, dates and Musk's share of its receipts; America PAC's independent expenditures in the Senate general elections, race by race and month by month; a proportional estimate for the other committees Musk funds (his share of a committee's receipts applied to its spending in each race, shown as an estimate until the next receipts post); the Texas Senate race, where the Musk-linked money is concentrated; the Kentucky Republican primary, where a Musk-funded super PAC backed the losing candidate; what the October filings will and will not show; and a methodology box covering identity matching, amendment handling, in-kind and memo entries, primary and general windows, and the proportional formula. The underlying data is downloadable as CSV and JSON.

Not all of it is Senate money: the Congressional Leadership Fund spends in House races and the Republican Governors Association and Republican Attorneys General Association in state races, so the Senate share is set out race by race.

Reporting by Wally Rashid. Photo: The White House. All investigations · 2026 Senate races: all the money · Methodology

Published October 12, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026

Elon Musk has put $366.5 million into the 2026 midterms so far, by VoteLog's count: $90.5 million that can be checked line by line in Federal Election Commission filings through June 30, 2026, and $276 million more that his representatives told The New York Times he has given since July, which the recipients' next reports, due October 15, 2026, will confirm or contradict. Not all of it is Senate money.

Key findings

• $366M Total, 2026 cycle: Confirmed in FEC filings plus figures reported to The New York Times
• $90.5M Confirmed in FEC filings: Through June 30, 2026: $60.1M cash to super PACs, $145,000 to candidates, $30.2M in-kind at America PAC
• $276M Reported, awaiting filings: Told to The New York Times by Musk's representatives on Oct. 12, 2026; Q3 filings due Oct. 15, 2026
• $34.8M America PAC, Senate general elections: 7 races since Aug. 19, 2026, as filed in 24- and 48-hour notices

Where the money went

The confirmed $90.5 million comes from the FEC's own records through June 30, 2026 (monthly filers through August 31, 2026): $60.1 million in cash to 6 super PACs, $145,000 net to 24 Republican candidate-side committees (22 campaigns, 1 leadership PAC, 1 joint fundraising committee; $154,300 given, $9,300 refunded), and $30.2 million in in-kind contributions that America PAC attributes to Musk on its reports, mostly petition incentive payments. The in-kind figure is shown as its own line everywhere on this page and is never folded into the cash totals.

On October 12, 2026, The New York Times reported, citing Musk's representatives, that he has given $276 million since the start of July: $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, $76 million to America PAC, $20 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund (House races), $10 million to Lone Star Liberty PAC, $10 million to the Republican Governors Association (governors' races), $2 million to the Republican Attorneys General Association (state attorney general races). None of those gifts can be checked yet: the quarterly reports covering July through September are due October 15, 2026, and the two state-level groups report to the IRS rather than the FEC. The Times also noted that some of his giving may be routed through groups that do not disclose their donors, which no filing will show.

Not all of this is Senate money: the Congressional Leadership Fund spends in House races, the Republican Governors Association and the Republican Attorneys General Association in state races, America PAC in House races and voter programs as well as Senate contests. The Senate share is set out race by race below.

Reported to The New York Times, line by line

Source: The New York Times, October 12, 2026, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/12/us/politics/elon-musk-midterms.html

Filings cited

• June 27, 2025: $5,000,000 to Senate Leadership Fund, mid-year report, FEC filing 1924078
• December 15, 2025: $5,000,000 to Senate Leadership Fund, year-end report, FEC filing 1950739
• February 18, 2025: $4,200,000 to America PAC, mid-year report, FEC filing 1909353
• February 28, 2025: $4,000,000 to America PAC, mid-year report, FEC filing 1909353
• March 19, 2025: $5,500,000 to America PAC, mid-year report, FEC filing 1909353
• March 25, 2025: $1,000,000 to America PAC, mid-year report, FEC filing 1909353
• April 11, 2025: $3,250,000 to America PAC, mid-year report, FEC filing 1909353
• August 6, 2025: $400,000 to America PAC, year-end report, FEC filing 1947425
• December 15, 2025: $750,000 to America PAC, year-end report, FEC filing 1947425
• March 27, 2026: $1,000,000 to America PAC, April quarterly report, FEC filing 1965287
• Feb. 18, 2025 to June 30, 2026: $30,209,509 in-kind attributed to Musk on America PAC's reports (14 memo entries: Subscriptions, Travel, Tax Services / Subscriptions, Petition Incentives, Petition Processing Fees, Travel / Food / Beverages, Petition Administrative Support Fees, Web Services, Voter Data Consulting)
• June 27, 2025: $5,000,000 to Congressional Leadership Fund, mid-year report, FEC filing 1923597 (Non Contribution Account)
• December 15, 2025: $5,000,000 to Congressional Leadership Fund, year-end report, FEC filing 1978836 (Non Contribution Account)
• January 14, 2026: $10,000,000 to Fight for Kentucky, April quarterly report, FEC filing 1976559
• June 27, 2025: $5,000,000 to MAGA Inc., mid-year report, FEC filing 1909741
• May 8, 2026: $5,000,000 to V-PAC: Victors, Not Victims, July quarterly report, FEC filing 1993682

Direct contributions to candidates

$154,300 to 24 Republican candidate-side committees, $145,000 after refunds, all within the federal limits for an individual donor.

Race by race

America PAC, the super PAC Musk founded, has reported $34.8 million in independent expenditures in 7 Senate general elections since August 19, 2026, led by Texas ($16.8 million), Ohio ($7.1 million), Michigan ($5.8 million). $26.2 million of it opposes Democrats and $8.7 million supports Republicans ($703,110 in August 2026, $18.3 million in September 2026, $15.8 million in October 2026). Musk supplied 99.9% of America PAC's receipts this cycle counting the in-kind contributions attributed to him (40% in cash alone), so its spending is counted as his.

For the other committees Musk has funded, the page shows an estimate, not a tracing: Musk's share of each committee's receipts for the cycle, multiplied by what that committee has spent in each race. His $10 million to the Senate Leadership Fund is 3.9% of the $253.7 million it had raised through June 30, 2026; the $158 million his representatives say he gave since July is not in that share yet. When the fund's July-September report posts, both numbers update and the estimates below recompute automatically. Money inside a committee is fungible, so these estimates say how much of each committee's spending Musk's money could cover, not which ads it paid for.

America PAC by race and month

All 7 races together: August 2026: $703,110 ($318,474 supporting, $384,637 opposing); September 2026: $18,327,805 ($4,465,251 supporting, $13,862,554 opposing); October 2026: $15,786,095 ($3,882,370 supporting, $11,903,725 opposing).

Texas: about $17 million in Musk-funded spending

Texas is where the most Musk-funded spending has landed: an estimated $17 million, 6.7% of the $254.3 million in outside money the race has drawn. America PAC has reported $16.8 million in independent expenditures in the Senate race, and Musk supplied 99.9% of its receipts this cycle counting the in-kind contributions attributed to him, so its spending is counted as his: about three-quarters of it ($13.6 million) is spent against James Talarico rather than for Ken Paxton ($3.2 million). MAGA Inc. has reported $25 million in the race ($17.5 million against Talarico, $7.5 million for Paxton), but Musk supplied 1.2% of its receipts, so only about $0.3 million of it is counted as his. Together America PAC and MAGA Inc. have spent $41.8 million in the race; that is total committee spending, not Musk's money.

Lone Star Liberty PAC, the super PAC backing Ken Paxton, has reported $17.5 million in spending ($13.9 million against James Talarico). Its filings through June 30, 2026 list $10.3 million in receipts and no contribution from Musk. The $10 million his representatives told the Times he gave it is pending its July-September report, due October 15, 2026; until then none of its spending is attributed to Musk here.

The largest outside spender in the race is not on that list. Texas PAC, a super PAC that registered with the FEC on August 28, 2026, has reported $140.2 million in independent expenditures since September 11, 2026: $69.6 million supporting Ken Paxton and $70.6 million against James Talarico. Who funds it is not yet public: its first receipts report is due October 15, 2026. VoteLog attributes none of its spending to Musk unless a filing shows his money.

The Times reported that the Senate Leadership Fund began a campaign supporting Ken Paxton after Musk's money arrived. As of October 12, 2026, the FEC filings VoteLog tracks show no independent expenditures by the fund in the Texas race; any it files will appear here at Musk's share of its receipts.

Counted as Musk's = the month's total times Musk's share of the committee's receipts this cycle (America PAC 99.9% counting the in-kind contributions attributed to him; MAGA Inc. 1.2%).

Full Texas race page: https://votelog.org/investigations/texas-senate-general-money

Kentucky: the primary Musk's money did not win

Before the general election, Musk's money also went into a Republican primary. Fight for Kentucky, a single-race super PAC, raised $15.1 million through June 30, 2026, $10 million of it (66%) from Musk on January 14, 2026. It spent $13.4 million between Jan. 23, 2026 and March 27, 2026: $9.6 million supporting Nate Morris and $3.8 million opposing Andy Barr. Andy Barr won the May 19, 2026 primary and is the Republican nominee. This primary spending is kept separate from the general-election totals above.

Full Kentucky race page: https://votelog.org/investigations/kentucky-senate-general-money

What the filings will show

Super PACs disclose their donors on quarterly reports (monthly, for the few that opt in), filed two weeks after each quarter ends. Their spending shows up faster: an independent expenditure must be reported within 48 hours, or within 24 hours in the last 20 days before an election. That is why this page can already show America PAC's spending race by race through October 12, 2026 while the money behind it stops at June 30, 2026.

The July-September reports are due October 15, 2026. For the Senate Leadership Fund, America PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, Lone Star Liberty PAC, each figure Musk's representatives gave the Times will be checked against the committee's own Schedule A, line by line, and its status on this page changes to "confirmed in filing" (with the filing number and amount), "not found in filing" or "amount differs" (with both figures). The Republican Governors Association and the Republican Attorneys General Association file with the IRS instead, so those lines stay as reported. As the recipients' receipts grow, Musk's share of each committee, and the proportional estimates built on it, recompute automatically.

What no filing will show: money given to politically active nonprofits that do not disclose their donors. The Times noted that some of Musk's giving may travel that way; such gifts can never appear on this page.

Methodology

• Identity. A contribution is counted as Musk's when the filer records the contributor as Elon Musk (last name MUSK, first name beginning ELON) and the filing's own address or employer points at him: an Austin-area Texas address (ZIP 78734) or SpaceX, Space Exploration Technologies or Tesla as employer. Other Musks are excluded; so are 17 WinRed conduit pass-through records ($113,527), counted once, at the campaigns that received the money.
• Filings, not the FEC API. FEC bulk individual-contribution file (indiv26), downloaded 2026-10-12; filtered to last name MUSK, first name ELON; identity confirmed by Austin/Lakeway TX ZIP 78734 and employer SpaceX / Space Exploration Technologies. FEC bulk committee (cm26), candidate (cn26), linkage (ccl26) and committee-summary (webk26) files, downloaded 2026-10-12. Committee receipts and the post-June 30, 2026 check come from docquery.fec.gov posted .fec filings (latest amendment of each report, chosen by the FEC amendment chain). VoteLog does not call the FEC API.
• Latest amendment only. When a committee amends a report, only the latest version in the FEC's amendment chain is read, so an amended contribution is never counted twice.
• Cash, in-kind and memo lines. Cash is non-memo Schedule A receipts. The in-kind figure is the memo entries America PAC files to attribute goods and services to Musk (petition incentive payments, data, travel); it is reported as its own line and never added to cash silently. Refunds (Schedule B) are netted out of the candidate-side total and listed.
• Primary and general windows. Race-by-race spending counts independent expenditures from each race's general-election window (after the primary) in the Senate money pages VoteLog maintains, support and oppose kept apart. Primary spending (Kentucky) is shown separately and excluded from the general-election totals.
• Proportional estimate. For a committee Musk funds alongside other donors, estimated Musk-funded spending in a race = (Musk's contributions to the committee this cycle ÷ the committee's total receipts this cycle) × the committee's independent expenditures in that race. America PAC's share counts the in-kind contributions attributed to Musk; every other share is cash only. Money reported to the Times but not yet filed is in no share: a committee with no confirmed Musk contribution carries a share of zero until its filing posts.
• Reported figures. The $276 million in gifts since July comes from Musk's representatives, as reported by The New York Times (October 12, 2026). Each line is shown as reported until the recipient's filing confirms it, and the two IRS-reporting groups are never counted as confirmed.
• Data dates. Quarterly filers through June 30, 2026; monthly filers through August 31, 2026; bulk files downloaded October 12, 2026; race-by-race spending through October 12, 2026; last filing check October 12, 2026.

Download the data: https://votelog.org/data/musk/musk-money.csv (every line on this page with its FEC citation) and https://votelog.org/data/musk/musk-money.json.