Elon Musk donated $158 million to the super PAC supporting Senate Republicans, with most of that money seemingly going to a group that supports GOP Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton.
According to new Federal Election Commission filings, obtained by the New York Times, the SpaceX CEO donated $75 million to the Senate Leadership Fund PAC on Sept. 9. Then, two weeks later, donated an additional $83 million. It’s said Musk’s two donations made up over half of the political committee’s total receipts for the third quarter of the year.
Additionally, the day after each donation was made, the super PAC sent that same sum to the Texas PAC, which reported over $100 million in spending on pro-Paxton messaging, as well as on content against his Democratic rival, James Talarico.
It’s not clear whether the money sent to the Texas group was directly from Musk’s donation, as the super PAC had recently called for new donations to assist Paxton’s campaign. Though, it’s worth noting that Musk has previously targeted Talarico amid his Sentate bid.
This is not the first large donation the trillionaire has made this year, either. Musk, who is a resident of Texas and has based several of his companies’ operations in the state, has donated more than $80 million between July and September to America PAC. This group also reported spending money on the Texas Senate race, as well as other congressional contests.
“If Democrats take control of Washington and win key gubernatorial and attorney general races this November, then America risks becoming a socialist, woke and borderless country,” America PAC spokesperson Andrew Romeo said in a statement to media. “These robust investments have allowed the GOP apparatus to get its message out so Republicans can have a fighting chance to defy history.”
A representative for Musk did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
