Scoop: Inside Elon Musk's massive Texas rescue mission

Axios · 10/15/2026, 9:00:07 AM

Elon Musk, by far the biggest known midterm donor, is single-handedly keeping the Republican Party afloat in some of its most vital races. Musk's team reached out to Republicans in late August to discuss a train wreck they all saw coming: Unless the GOP poured more money into Texas immediately, the state's Senate race could be lost in a matter of weeks. Why it matters: That chat set in motion a massive rescue operation for Republican Ken Paxton funded substantially by Musk, who gave $158 million to the GOP in September alone. Musk's rescue gave Paxton's sleepy campaign new life and showed why the world's richest person is the X factor in the push to prevent a midterm debacle for President Trump's party. Zoom out: It also helped Republicans avoid a death-spiral scenario: that propping up Paxton in Texas would force them to drain badly needed resources from other Senate battlegrounds. Instead, Musk's money allowed Republicans to flood Texas' expensive TV markets and free up cash to shore up unexpectedly competitive races in Kansas and South Carolina . Behind the scenes: In late August, Democrat James Talarico was dominating the Texas airwaves, portraying Paxton, the state's attorney general, as one of the nation's most corrupt politicians. Paxton, who isn't known as a prolific fundraiser, was dark on TV. Polling seen by Musk's team and the GOP's Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) suggested his chances were sinking. Against that backdrop, Musk's top political adviser, Chris Young, called SLF president Alex Latcham with an idea: Musk would donate $5 million to a pro-Paxton super PAC if that group raised another $5 million. Latcham countered: Would Musk contribute $10 million if the pro-Paxton group raised $5 million and SLF put up another $5 million? Young agreed. Within days, Republicans had mobilized $20 million to get Paxton on TV. The intrigue: That was just the beginning. SLF and Musk's America PAC concluded that a much larger operation was needed, given the enormous cos