This article is reproduced from [Xinhua International Headlines];
The 2026 midterm elections in the United States have come to an end. In this “money-burning war”, the Democratic Party achieved its wish to make a comeback in the congressional and gubernatorial races, while the Republican Party spent heavily but suffered a disastrous defeat. The group of Republican candidates supported by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who spent hundreds of millions of dollars has been almost completely wiped out. He may also face “pursuit” from the Democratic Party.
Money wasted?
According to the rankings of the New York Times, Musk is the largest “financier” in this year’s midterm elections, with a total of US$445 million in campaign donations at the federal level. In addition, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Musk also sponsored tens of millions of dollars through some groups with low disclosure of financial information.
Reuters reported that as of the 5th, in the congressional reelection, only 3 of the 37 Republican House candidates supported by Musk were elected, 33 were defeated, and the vote counting results of the remaining one have not yet been announced; while 6 of the 7 Republican Senate candidates he supported were defeated, and one is still waiting for the results.
This is the Capitol Building taken in Washington, USA on November 3. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Rui
In the local elections, according to the Politico website, Musk spent $5 million to support Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s re-election campaign. Abbott was re-elected since his first election in 2014, but this time he lost to Democratic opponent Gina Hinojosa. Moreover, as a traditional “deep red” state that supports the Republican Party, Texas “turned blue” in this election. The federal senator, governor, and a large number of state offices were all won by Democrats. Texas is where Musk’s SpaceX and Tesla headquarters are located.
Musk spent heavily to help Republican President Trump be re-elected. In the early days of the Trump administration, he served as the head of the “Government Efficiency Department” and massively laid off federal government agencies and employees.
On the 4th, when the election results gradually became clear, Musk posted a self-deprecating post on social media: “It seems that the space laser I used to intervene in the election did not work this time.”
Democrats have threatened to investigate Musk and his companies. Incoming Texas Governor Hinojosa said that he would thoroughly investigate the relationship between Abbott and Musk, accusing the former of handing over the Boca Chica region of Texas to the “highest bidder.” Boca Chica is located in southern Texas, where SpaceX has a rocket launch site.
Democratic congressman Robert Garcia, who will become chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, plans to introduce legislation aimed at closing the so-called “Musk loophole”, which is the current election system that allows corporate executives to donate unlimited personal funds to political campaigns even though their companies are prohibited from doing so.
On October 29, voters cast early votes at a polling station in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Rui
“In the eyes of many Democrats, Musk is the ‘Mr. Moneybags’ for their Republican opponents,” said David Hopkins, a professor of political science at Boston College. “That perception will certainly have an impact on how they will treat Musk personally. He is part of the Trump administration, which has direct ties to his businesses, and the risks to him are particularly high.”
The share prices of SpaceX and Tesla fell 8.5% and 11.4% respectively on the afternoon of the 5th. Reuters believes that the reason is that investors are worried that the Democratic-controlled Congress will intensify scrutiny of Musk’s companies in the future.
The most expensive election
In addition to Musk, there are also some “funders” in the United States joining this “money-burning war”, making this election campaign with people’s livelihood as one of the main issues the “most expensive” midterm election in the history of the United States.
“Open Secret”, a non-profit organization that tracks campaign expenditures, estimates that the congressional campaign in this midterm election alone will cost nearly $12 billion, which is about $3 billion more than the 2022 midterm elections and about 4.2 times the cost of the 2006 midterm elections.
According to statistics from the New York Times, Musk and other top 20 individuals and groups have invested a total of approximately US$2 billion in funding for this election.
In terms of political parties, the campaign expenses invested by both parties are roughly the same. According to data from the American “Advertising Influence” company, the Republicans spent about $5.2 billion and the Democrats nearly $4.8 billion.
On October 24, residents of Queens, New York City, USA purchased agricultural products at an open-air market. Published by Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Zhu Ziyu)
This year’s U.S. Senate race in Texas is also the most expensive. The company Advertising Impact estimates that Republican candidate Ken Paxton and Democratic rival James Talarico spent $573.2 million on campaign advertising alone, making it the most expensive race outside of the presidential race.
Talarico said after his victory that the election results “send (another) message to every millionaire financier, to every trillionaire financier, to every corrupt person who defends this rotten political system.”
Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas who is seeking re-election, had more than $100 million in campaign funds at the beginning of this year.
Of course, there are also wealthy “financiers” in the Democratic Party. Among the 20 largest donors listed by the New York Times are investor George Soros and billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
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