Musk's $158 Million to Senate Republicans Landed in a Pro-Paxton Super PAC the Next Day

Every dollar Elon Musk gave the Senate Leadership Fund in September was headed to Texas a day later. Musk gave the main Senate Republican super PAC $75 million on Sept. 9 and $83 million on Sept. 23, according to SLF's quarterly report to the Federal Election Commission. On Sept. 10 and Sept. 24, SLF sent the same amounts, to the dollar, to Texas PAC, a new super PAC backing Ken Paxton for the U.S. Senate.

Texas PAC's own filing lists those two transfers, $158 million in all, as the only money it took in through Sept. 30. All of its ad spending has gone into one race: Paxton, the Texas attorney general, against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico.

Where the money went

On the air fast. Texas PAC started spending the day after the first transfer. Its first big media buys, dated Sept. 12, came to $53.9 million, split almost evenly between ads for Paxton and ads against Talarico, its quarterly report shows.

Still spending. By Oct. 14 it had spent $148.3 million. Its 24-hour reports show it kept going after that, including $32.4 million against Talarico on Oct. 20 alone. Through Oct. 26 the total is $181.9 million in media buys, digital ads, mail and texts: $112.2 million against Talarico and $69.7 million for Paxton. That is more than the $158 million it had reported raising. Its next full report, due Dec. 3, will show how the rest was paid for.

How the deal came together

It started small. In late August, with Talarico all over Texas TV and Paxton dark, Musk's top political adviser, Chris Young, called SLF president Alex Latcham, Axios reported. Young offered $5 million from Musk to a pro-Paxton super PAC if that group raised $5 million more. Latcham countered with $10 million from Musk, $5 million from the group and $5 million from SLF. "Within days, Republicans had mobilized $20 million to get Paxton on TV," Axios wrote.

FEC records show part of that early push: the Elon Musk Revocable Trust gave $10 million to Lone Star Liberty PAC, another pro-Paxton super PAC, on Aug. 21. Texas PAC registered with the FEC on Aug. 28, and SLF, the super PAC tied to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, announced it on Sept. 11, the day after the party's midterm convention in Dallas, with an eight-figure opening ad buy, Fox News reported.

Musk's two checks were about 58% of the $272.9 million SLF raised from July through September, its filing shows. The transfers let SLF back Paxton without pulling money from Republicans in other competitive Senate races, ABC News noted.

Why Texas needed it

Talarico's campaign has the cash. It raised $146.3 million through Oct. 14, while Paxton's raised $22.3 million, FEC totals show. Paxton told Fox News' Bret Baier that a primary fight that dragged into May cost him months of fundraising. "Talarico had three extra months to raise money and not spend it," he said. "But once we're able to highlight the stark differences between a socialist and a constitutional Republican, he will not win Texas."

Musk's money didn't stop with Texas PAC. His America PAC is running the Republican door-knocking in the state and has put tens of millions of dollars into the Paxton-Talarico race, as we reported when his October checks pushed his midterm giving past $442 million.

Texans vote Tuesday.