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Musk-backed Republicans lost most decided races despite over $400m in spending
Developing story first seen 3 hours ago
The latest results show that Democrats also won the Texas governor’s race, with Gina Hinojosa defeating Greg Abbott, giving them greater influence over state policies affecting Elon Musk’s businesses. The outcome deepens the setback for Musk, whose large contributions to Republican campaigns have yielded few victories.
By Wednesday morning, candidates backed by Musk’s America PAC had lost 20 races and won one, with 21 still uncalled; more than 99 per cent of his traceable spending in decided races went to losers. Musk and his PAC spent over $400 million backing Republicans, including nearly $87 million on adverts in 42 races, while he also gave more than $229 million to other political groups. In Texas, groups funded by Musk spent about $195 million on the Senate contest, which Democrat James Talarico won; Democrats are also set to oversee more than $1.6 billion in tax incentives relevant to Musk’s Texas operations.
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In short
- Musk-backed candidates lost most decided races.
- Democrats won Texas’s Senate and governor races.
- Musk’s traceable spending overwhelmingly backed losing campaigns.
How this story developed
- 1 hour ago The results confirmed the scale of Musk’s losses: America PAC-backed candidates had lost 20 races and won one, with 21 still uncalled, while more than 99 per cent of his traceable spending in decided contests went to losing campaigns.
- 1 hour ago Gina Hinojosa defeated Greg Abbott in the Texas governor’s race, adding to Democrats’ influence over state policies relevant to Elon Musk’s businesses as most candidates he backed lost.
Full account
Republican candidates backed by Elon Musk lost most of the races that had been decided by Wednesday morning, despite his spending more than $400 million on this year’s campaigns, according to the reports. The precise tally varies with the outlet’s method and the stage of counting: WIRED’s analysis found 20 losses and one win among America PAC-backed candidates, with 21 contests still uncalled. A broader count cited by the second outlet said Musk supported Republicans in 106 House and Senate races; 18 had won, 45 had lost and 43 remained undecided.
Musk was reported to have put close to half a billion dollars into Republican politics, making him the biggest individual donor of the election cycle by a substantial margin. His spending included direct support for candidates and contributions to political groups, including major Republican super PACs. WIRED’s account attributed nearly $87 million to America PAC adverts in 42 midterm contests, while the other report used Federal Election Commission filings to describe his overall outlay. Both accounts said most of the money traceable to decided races went to unsuccessful candidates.
The losses included several Senate contests in which America PAC had advertised. WIRED reported that six of the seven Senate races it backed had been called, and that its preferred candidates had lost all six. Among the defeats it highlighted were Susan Collins’s loss in Maine and Republican losses in Ohio, Michigan and Iowa. The second outlet also pointed to setbacks in states including Minnesota and Kansas, while noting that results were still changing as more contests were called.
Texas was a particular focus because of Musk’s political spending and business interests there. The reports described substantial support for Republican Ken Paxton against Democrat James Talarico, who was declared the winner, and highlighted Democratic gains in the state, including the governorship. WIRED detailed spending by Texas PAC and America PAC, and linked the outcome to the future of state tax incentives affecting Musk’s companies. The second outlet gave a broader estimate of Musk’s Texas-directed spending and emphasised the scale of Democratic victories across state and federal races. Musk responded to the results on X with a joke about his supposed “election-interfering space lasers”; America PAC did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
Where outlets differ
From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:
The reported totals and race counts use different scopes: WIRED focused on America PAC-backed candidates and reported 20 losses, one win and 21 uncalled; the other outlet counted Republicans Musk supported across 106 House and Senate races, including 18 wins, 45 losses and 43 uncalled.
The accounts give different estimates and breakdowns of spending. WIRED described more than $400 million in support for Republican campaigns, including funds routed to other groups, and itemised spending on Texas; the second report cited nearly $500 million overall and around $225 million directed to Texas.
The outlets foreground different details. WIRED examined specific Senate races, Texas spending and the implications for Musk’s business interests; the other report stressed the Democratic wave, Musk’s donor ranking and his political rhetoric.
Coverage · 2 sources
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Wired as “Voters Set $400 Million of Elon Musk’s Money on Fire”.