Elon Musk has directed $7.9 million to outside groups supporting Republican Sen. Jon Husted’s reelection bid in Ohio, money that has flowed around Husted’s own campaign account rather than into it. The spending comes as Husted battles Democrat and former Sen. Sherrod Brown in a race both parties are treating as one of the most pivotal in the country this fall.
Money Bypasses the Campaign Itself
According to Newsweek, Musk has spent $7.9 million supporting Husted’s reelection bid through his super PAC, with the outlet noting that this money has flowed to outside groups rather than directly to Husted’s campaign. The seed report from Crain's Cleveland Business similarly tied Musk’s financial backing to the Husted effort. Husted has served as one of Ohio’s two senators since early 2025, after being appointed to fill the seat vacated when JD Vance became vice president, the outlet reports.
The race pits Husted against Brown, a former senator trying to reclaim the seat he once held. The Ohio contest is one of seven rated a toss-up by the Cook Political Report, the same report notes, underscoring why both parties and outside spenders are pouring in such large sums.
Fundraising Gap Keeps Widening
Brown’s campaign has out-raised Husted’s for five consecutive quarters, according to Cleveland.com. Husted’s campaign reported raising $19.2 million of its own funds from the beginning of 2025 through June 30, 2026, the same account trailing Brown’s pace throughout the cycle. For the July-through-September quarter, the two sides reported differing totals for Husted: Newsweek put Brown’s haul at $23.1 million against $4.8 million for Husted, while Cleveland.com reported $23.1 million for Brown against $4.85 million for Husted.
That fundraising gap helps explain why Musk’s money matters so much to the race. Roughly $422.6 million had been spent or set aside for advertising in the Ohio Senate contest as of October 16, per the same Cleveland.com report, with outside groups that aren’t run by either campaign accounting for about $350 million of that total. On the other side of the ledger, the Democratic PAC Defend the Vote has spent $7 million on an ad campaign attacking Husted’s record on data centers, Newsweek reports.
Part of a Record-Setting Spending Spree
Ohio is just one piece of a much larger pattern. The New York Times reported that Musk had contributed $276 million to his super PAC and to Republican groups since July, part of roughly $366 million he has given to federal committees during the 2025-26 election cycle — up from about $290 million during the 2024 election, per the same report. The Guardian has likewise identified Musk as the biggest political donor of the 2026 midterm cycle based on that $366 million figure.
Guardrails Action estimated Musk had spent over $55 million across various races as of October 16, Newsweek reports, and in September he gave $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund in two donations of $75 million and $83 million. His Ohio spending is second only to the $18.8 million he’s contributed to boost Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Senate campaign, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.
