AUSTIN, United States — Billionaire Elon Musk’s political organisation has spent nearly $5.2 million supporting Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race, while Republican strategists have expressed concerns about the consequences of Musk taking a more public role in the campaign.
Musk’s America PAC has financed digital advertising, direct mail, telephone outreach, and campaign literature in the contest between Paxton, the Texas attorney general, and Democratic state lawmaker James Talarico.
The spending comes as Republican organisations increase their financial support for Paxton, who entered the general election campaign with substantially less money than his Democratic opponent.
According to NBC News reporting published on Monday, September 21, 2026, more than half a dozen Republican strategists involved in the contest said they preferred Musk to concentrate on financial contributions rather than public campaigning.
Musk’s Political Group Increases Spending in Texas
America PAC has spent approximately $14.7 million on congressional contests across the United States, including seven Senate races and nearly three dozen House races.
Texas has received the largest allocation, with Senate contests in Ohio and Michigan also attracting substantial investment.
The organisation has not disclosed its total planned expenditure in Texas.
Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for America PAC, said the group was working with Republican organisations to support the party’s candidates in congressional elections.
He described retaining Republican control of Congress as the organisation’s principal objective.
Musk, who lives in Texas and has established major operations for Tesla and SpaceX in the state, has not announced plans to appear at campaign events for Paxton.
His current involvement differs from his campaign activities during the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election.
In that contest, Musk personally attended campaign events, offered $1 million payments to voters, and participated in an election in which he and affiliated organisations spent at least $20 million.
The conservative candidate subsequently lost by 10 percentage points.
One Republican consultant involved in the Texas contest told NBC News that Musk’s prominent role in Wisconsin had drawn attention away from the judicial candidates.
“Elon spending money became the story, which I think maybe was a mistake,” the consultant said.
Other Republican strategists interviewed by the network expressed similar concerns about a prominent public role for Musk in Texas.
Republican Groups Increase Financial Support for Paxton
The new spending follows a substantial fundraising advantage for Talarico during the earlier stages of the general election campaign.
At the end of June, Talarico’s campaign reported approximately $21 million in cash reserves, compared with $1.7 million for Paxton, according to campaign finance reports cited by NBC News.
Republican political organisations have since committed significant resources to advertising and other campaign activities.
The pro-Paxton Lone Star Liberty PAC has spent at least $15 million on television advertisements, including commercials criticising Talarico’s previous legislative votes concerning China.
MAGA Inc., the political organisation aligned with President Donald Trump, has committed $10 million to advertising in Texas.
Its chief, James Blair, confirmed the advertising investment in an interview with NBC News.
The additional expenditure comes after Trump endorsed Paxton in the Republican primary against Senator John Cornyn, whom several senior Republican figures had supported.
Paxton secured the nomination and is now seeking the Senate seat against Talarico.
Democrats Respond to Musk’s Involvement
Democratic politicians and strategists have criticised Musk’s financial involvement in the contest, while Republican campaign officials have defended the spending.
Nathan Johnson, a Democratic candidate for Texas attorney general, told NBC News that he welcomed Musk taking a more prominent role in the Senate campaign.
Johnson criticised policies that he said benefited wealthy individuals, including Musk.
Luke Warford, a Democratic strategist and chairman of the Travis County Democratic Party, said Musk’s involvement showed the influence wealthy donors have on electoral politics, an issue Talarico has addressed during his campaign.
Talarico has campaigned on living costs and government corruption, while criticising billionaires’ political influence.
His campaign spokesman, JT Ennis, accused Republican-aligned political organisations of disseminating misleading claims about the Democratic candidate.
Republican officials involved in the race have rejected those criticisms and maintained that their campaign expenditure is intended to support Paxton and preserve the party’s congressional representation.
America PAC has not announced whether Musk will personally participate in campaign events before the November election.
