Elon Musk spends $366m to bolster Republican Party in US midterm elections

The barrage of spending comes as Republicans fight to overcome Trump’s declining popularity and cost of living concerns.

US President Donald Trump presents the National Medal of Science to Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on October 8 [Evan Vucci/Reuters]

Elon Musk, the trillionaire tech mogul and backer of far-right causes , has reportedly spent $366m since last year to buoy the Republican Party in the United States midterm elections.

The New York Times first reported on Monday that Musk has spent $276m since July alone, including $158m for a super PAC focused on Republican Senate candidates, making him the largest single donor this year.

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Musk is considered a close ally of President Donald Trump , the leader of the Republican Party, and was a special government adviser to the White House last year.

Musk’s political action committee, America PAC, has confirmed the spending totals. In a statement to The New York Times, a spokesperson framed the record amount as necessary to defend Congress from a Democratic takeover during the midterm races.

“These robust investments have allowed the GOP apparatus to get its message out so Republicans can have a fighting chance to defy history,” America PAC spokesman Andrew Romeo told the Times.

The barrage of spending by Musk comes as Republican candidates are fighting to overcome Trump’s low popularity and rising concerns about the cost of living among US voters.

Democrats are hoping to capitalise on voter dissatisfaction with Trump’s tenure to seize control of Congress, where Republicans currently hold majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The influence of wealthy donors and PACs has long been the subject of criticism. Opponents argue that such spending distorts US politics in favour of powerful interests .

Musk became the world’s first trillionaire in June, when his aerospace company SpaceX made its initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

The tech entrepreneur had previously said that he planned to step back from his involvement in US politics, stating in May that he had “done enough” and did not have plans for large spending efforts.

Still, Musk has leveraged his tech holdings and wealth to support right-wing groups around the world.

Last year, for instance, politicians in Germany accused Musk of trying to meddle in the national election. Musk has been a vocal backer of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has been accused of adopting a discriminatory stance on immigration and other issues.

Voters in the US will head to the polls on November 3 to cast their ballots in the midterms, which will decide key state and local races, as well as congressional majorities.

The Republican Party is considered to have a sizeable financial advantage over the Democrats ahead of the race, with heavy spending from groups such as MAGA Inc, a pro-Trump super PAC named for the president’s “Make America Great Again” movement.

As of August, MAGA Inc reportedly had $416m in its coffers. The tracking site AdImpact found that it had spent $22m over the past month alone on the tight race unfolding for the open Senate seat in Texas.

Trump has also increased his campaign activities, hosting a string of rallies in the final weeks before the election to help Republicans push their message .

But Democrats appear confident that the Republicans’ spending advantage will not be enough to counter the effects of growing dissatisfaction with Trump.

“Republicans are hoping to buy these elections, injecting tens of millions into races to try and outrun their unpopular candidates, unpopular president and unpopular economy,” said Lauren French, a spokesperson for Democrats’ Senate Majority PAC.

共和党人正努力扭转特朗普支持率下滑和生活成本上涨的局面，而这波支出攻势正是在此背景下发生的。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普于10月8日向特斯拉和SpaceX首席执行官埃隆·马斯克颁发国家科学奖章。[埃文·武奇/路透社]

据报道，亿万富翁科技巨头、极右翼事业的支持者埃隆·马斯克自去年以来已花费 3.66 亿美元来支持共和党在美国中期选举中的表现。

《纽约时报》周一率先报道称，马斯克自 7 月以来已花费 2.76 亿美元，其中包括向一个专注于共和党参议院候选人的超级政治行动委员会捐赠的 1.58 亿美元，这使他成为今年最大的个人捐助者。

特朗普向埃隆·马斯克和其他科技高管颁发美国顶级科学奖项（共3条，第1条）

美国法官裁定特朗普政府使用选民数据违法（共3条，此为第2条）

列表 3/3：特朗普是否暗示中期选举后将与伊朗恢复战争？

马斯克被认为是共和党领袖、美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的亲密盟友，并且去年曾担任白宫特别政府顾问。

马斯克的政治行动委员会“美国政治行动委员会”（America PAC）已证实了支出总额。一位发言人在给《纽约时报》的一份声明中表示，这笔创纪录的支出是为了在中期选举中防止民主党掌控国会。

“这些强有力的投资让共和党机器得以传播其信息，从而使共和党人有机会扭转历史局面，”美国政治行动委员会发言人安德鲁·罗密欧告诉《泰晤士报》。

马斯克的这波支出攻势正值共和党候选人努力扭转特朗普支持率低迷以及美国选民对生活成本日益增长的担忧之际。

民主党人希望利用选民对特朗普执政的不满来夺取国会的控制权，目前共和党在众议院和参议院都占据多数席位。

富裕捐助者和政治行动委员会的影响力长期以来一直备受诟病。反对者认为，这种支出扭曲了美国政治，使其有利于强大的利益集团。

今年6月，马斯克的航天公司SpaceX在纳斯达克证券交易所进行首次公开​​募股（IPO），马斯克也因此成为世界首位万亿富翁。

这位科技企业家此前曾表示，他计划退出美国政治，并在 5 月份表示，他已经“做得够多了”，并且没有大规模支出的计划。

尽管如此，马斯克还是利用其科技资产和财富来支持世界各地的右翼团体。

例如，去年德国政界人士指责马斯克试图干预德国大选。马斯克一直是德国另类选择党（AfD）的坚定支持者，该党被指责在移民和其他问题上采取歧视性立场。

美国选民将于11月3日前往投票站参加中期选举，此次选举将决定关键的州和地方选举，以及国会多数席位的归属。

共和党被认为在竞选前拥有比民主党相当大的财政优势，MAGA Inc. 等团体投入巨资，MAGA Inc. 是一个支持特朗普的超级政治行动委员会，以总统的“让美国再次伟大”运动命名。

据报道，截至8月份，MAGA公司拥有4.16亿美元的资金。广告追踪网站AdImpact发现，仅上个月，该公司就花费了2200万美元用于德克萨斯州竞争激烈的参议院席位争夺战。

特朗普也加大了竞选活动力度，在选举前的最后几周举办了一系列集会，以帮助共和党人宣传他们的信息。

但民主党人似乎相信，共和党的支出优势不足以抵消民众对特朗普日益增长的不满情绪所带来的影响。

“共和党人希望通过金钱收买选举，向竞选中投入数千万美元，试图击败他们不受欢迎的候选人、不受欢迎的总统和不受欢迎的经济，”民主党参议院多数党政治行动委员会发言人劳伦·弗伦奇说。