OMM Newsroom
Democrat James Talarico’s victory in the Texas Senate race was a major setback for Republicans and Elon Musk, according to the BBC.
Musk’s political action committee contributed $47 million (£35 million) to Republican candidate Ken Paxton’s campaign, the Financial Times reported. That was in addition to the $158 million Musk gave the Senate Leadership Fund in September.
The spending did not prevent the seat from turning Democratic for the first time since 1988. In his victory speech, Talarico said: “We just proved that all the money in the world is no match for the people of Texas.”
“Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time,” Musk wrote jokingly on “X”.
Talarico’s win marked a key turning point in the midterms, helping solidify Democrats’ control of the US Congress amid victories across the country.
Musk’s role in the Texas race
Musk has increasingly made Texas a hub for his businesses, including “Tesla”’s headquarters in Austin and “SpaceX”’s Starbase launch site.
Alongside backing Paxton through outside groups, Musk used his own platform to spread conspiracy theories about Talarico. After the Democrat briefly disappeared from the campaign trail in October, Musk posted: “There is something deeply wrong with Talarico.”
“There is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal US Senator,” Talarico replied.
Super PAC spending in the midterms
Musk became the top individual donor in this year’s midterms, contributing an estimated $446 million to support Republican candidates. His spending made the Texas contest one of the most expensive Senate races ever.
The money was channelled through Super PACs, which can raise unlimited sums but cannot donate directly to candidates or coordinate with their campaigns. Individuals, parties and traditional groups face legal limits on direct donations; Super PACs can spend independently, including on advertisements backing candidates.
Musk was also one of the Republican Party’s biggest donors in 2024, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on Donald Trump’s successful presidential campaign. A similarly large sum was not enough to secure a win for Paxton.
