Musk donates over $150 million to Senate GOP group, assisting Paxton

Billionaire Elon Musk donated $158 million last month to the main super PAC supporting Senate Republicans, which almost immediately sent the money to a group that supports GOP Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton, according to Federal Election Commission filings.Republicans are fighting to hold on to the Texas Senate seat, as polls point to a tight race between Paxton and Democratic opponent James Talarico. The assist from Musk — along with tens of millions of dollars in donations to other groups — marks a decisive return to large-scale political giving for the world's richest man, who spent over a quarter of a billion dollars backing President Trump and other Republican candidates in 2024.

Musk donated $75 million to the Senate Leadership Fund PAC on Sept. 9, and $83 million two weeks later, the group reported Thursday. Combined, the two super-sized donations from Musk made up more than half of the super PAC's total receipts in the third quarter of this year.One day after each donation, the Senate Leadership Fund PAC disbursed the same amount to Texas PAC. That group reported over $100 million in pro-Paxton and anti-Talarico spending.Musk also donated more than $80 million from July to September to his own group, America PAC, which was the primary vehicle for his political giving in 2024. The group reported spending on the