Musk's $200 million Texas spending failed to keep Republicans in power

According to Semafor, Elon Musk spent more than $200 million to keep Texas in Republican hands in the midterm election, but Senate candidate Ken Paxton's support declined as spending increased and he lost; Vivek Ramaswamy, a prominent figure in the DOGE project, also lost in Ohio.

Record spending by Elon Musk, the world's richest man, for Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections failed to produce the expected result. According to Semafor, Musk, who moved some of his companies to Texas, spent more than $200 million to keep the state in Republican hands. The spending was part of a campaign that surpassed the total political spending by any single donor during a single election cycle.

According to Semafor, Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton's polling numbers declined as Musk spent more. Paxton lost to Democrat James Talarico, while Democrats also won the governor's race in Texas.

Musk beside President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in February 2025 (archive)

Vivek Ramaswamy, another prominent figure in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project alongside Musk, also lost the Ohio governor's race to Democrat Amy Acton. Semafor wrote that the shift could not be explained solely by Trump's low popularity, noting that the Republican candidate had won Ohio's gubernatorial election by 25 points four years earlier.

Following the election results, shares of Musk's companies Tesla and SpaceX also lost value.

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