Senate Leadership Fund posts record fundraising haul as Musk-backed donations bolster GOP Senate push

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Senate Fund record fundraising

Highlights

Senate Leadership Fund raises $272.9 million from July through September, surpassing its own and Democrats' previous fundraising records for the quarter.
Elon Musk donates $158 million in September via a Texas PAC, representing the largest individual share and two of the largest political contributions on record.
Republican groups spend $122 million on Texas Senate races in September and reserve another $66 million for advertising through Election Day, with increased investments also directed to Kansas and Nebraska.

Record quarter reshapes Senate spending plans

As reported by CNBC, citing the Federal Election Commission filing released Thursday, the Senate Leadership Fund, the Republican Party's main Senate super PAC, raises $272.9 million from July through September, including $209.7 million from donors.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk provides the biggest share of that total, giving $158 million in September through an affiliated Texas PAC created to support Republican Ken Paxton. His two donations, $75 million and $83 million, rank among the largest political contributions on record.

The fundraising total surpasses the Democratic Senate Majority PAC's entire third-quarter intake. That group says it raises a record $151 million during the period and ends September with $111.8 million in cash, though its FEC filings are not yet available.

The SLF also breaks its own previous benchmarks. It brought in nearly $116 million in the third quarter of 2024 and $111 million in 2022, while a CNBC review of FEC filings shows its previous quarterly high was roughly $216 million in the final three months of 2020.

Texas and Midwest races draw heavier investment

The new cash cushion gives Republicans more flexibility as they work to protect their 53-seat Senate majority in a map that has become more defensive in the final weeks of the campaign. Spending decisions now reflect pressure points in states that were not expected to require this level of support.

The SLF pauses additional advertising in North Carolina this month after spending more than $30 million there, according to AdImpact data, and redirects resources toward Kansas, where Republican Sen. Roger Marshall faces a tougher-than-expected challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton.

In Nebraska, the group commits $15 million to defend Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts, including $7 million through the affiliated Cornhusker Majority, The Wall Street Journal reports. Trump carried Nebraska by more than 20 percentage points in 2024.

Texas has become another major battleground. The SLF is central to the Republican effort there as Democrat James Talarico turns what had been seen as a safe Republican Senate race into one of the country's most expensive contests.

Republican groups spend roughly $122 million in Texas in September alone and have another $66 million in advertising reserved through Election Day as of the start of October, according to AdImpact. Talarico says he raises $64 million in the third quarter, a record for a Senate candidate in that period, while Paxton raises $10.2 million, according to an FEC filing.

Our earlier article on Republicans’ advertising spending surge ahead of the midterm elections explained how GOP groups rapidly expanded ad buys as polling tightened, even in races once viewed as safe. It highlighted especially sharp increases in places like Kansas and Florida, and noted that Texas was emerging as the cycle’s most expensive Senate contest as Republicans shifted resources across the map.

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