Elon Musk
Some of the richest people in American politics spent heavily backing Republicans in November 3 elections but their side lost the Senate’s control. For a state that has anchored the Republican map for over 30 years, it is a stunning turn. For Musk, who donated a total $474 million (nearly half a billion dollars) to Republican candidates, including more than $220 million in Texas alone in this year’s midterm elections, it is arguably his biggest political defeat. Musk was the largest donor of the 2026 midterms. In September alone, he gave $158 million to the Senate Republicans’ main super PAC, which was quickly routed to a super PAC backing Paxton, the state’s attorney general. America PAC also spent more than $47 million against Talarico. The New York Times put Musk’s total spending in the state at roughly $224 million. He moved Tesla’s headquarters to Texas in 2021. In 2024, he moved SpaceX’s incorporation there from Delaware, after a Delaware judge invalidated his $56 billion Tesla pay plan. In Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy lost the governor’s race to Democrat Amy Acton after putting an estimated $36 million of his own money into it. In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott, who began the year with $105.7 million on hand, conceded to Hinojosa.
Democrat Gina Hinojosa also won the governor’s race. Democrats also won both the House and the Senate, according to the Associated Press.
Nowhere did it sting more than in Texas where Democrat James Talarico beat Republican Ken Paxton for the Senate, even though Elon Musk spent a fortune to help Paxton, according to a New York Times analysis. Musk said: “SpaceX has moved its state of incorporation from Delaware to Texas! Most of it went to his own America PAC and to the top super PACs for Senate and House Republicans. His biggest play was in Texas, his adopted home state and the headquarters of Tesla and SpaceX. Musk helped build that image. If your company is still incorporated in Delaware, I recommend moving to another state as soon as possible. Musk was not the only billionaire to come up short. In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms beat Republican billionaire Rick Jackson. Whether or not Texas is truly a battleground now, Republicans can no longer take its voters for granted.