“One of the last big campaign-finance snapshots before the Nov. 3 Election Day is now available, and both political parties found something to like. But campaign cash is flowing in very different ways — and, on balance, points to an environment more favorable for Democrats,” CNBC reports.

“On one side, Democratic candidates have turned into absolute cash cows, raising oodles more than their Republican rivals across Senate and House battlegrounds.”

“Republicans, however, still have a leg to stand on from an unprecedented flood of outside super PAC cash, bankrolled by a tiny circle of billionaires led by Elon Musk.”

“In North Carolina and Georgia, Democratic Senate candidates are lapping their Republican rivals in fundraising, according to new campaign finance reports,” the Washington Sun reports.

“It’s the latest ominous sign for Michael Whatley and Mike Collins, the Republican candidates who have seen national party attention shift to other races amid attempts to win enough seats to retain a Senate majority.”

Playbook: “With fewer than three weeks to go, the national environment keeps deteriorating for Republicans, and some Democrats are starting to dream of a big blue wave — even as warning signs remain that some GOP backlash may not translate to Democratic conversion.”

“The deluge of campaign spending is now hitting its peak, as candidates scramble to deliver a closing message to late-deciding voters only just tuning in.”

It’s no surprise everyone is getting their Blue Wave T-Shirts before Election Day.

“A billion-dollar war chest was meant to be Republicans’ great equalizer heading into a bleak midterm election environment defined by economic frustration, President Donald Trump’s unpopularity and fallout from the war in Iran,” CNBC reports.

“So far it hasn’t worked.”

“From Labor Day through Oct 14. GOP groups injected more than $740 million into congressional races that will determine control of Congress…”

“Yet with less than three weeks until the Nov. 3 Election Day, the spending blitz has barely moved the map. Democrats lead in FiftyPlusOne’s polling averages across nine of the Senate’s most competitive races – Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas – little changed from before the Republican spending spree.”

“Elon Musk is putting a small fortune into Republicans’ effort to salvage the Senate seat in Texas, seen as critical to the party keeping control of the chamber in the fall elections,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“According to federal filings, Musk donated $158 million to Senate Republicans’ super PAC in September—the same amount that was immediately funneled to a group backing Republican Ken Paxton’s Senate bid.”

“Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who is campaigning in Michigan this week for Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, transferred $1 million on Friday to a political account to help elect the fellow progressive to the Senate,” the New York Times reports.

“The transfer represents a huge sum for a House member to give to a Senate race, especially one in a different state. But Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who is considering a run for president in 2028, has made clear that she believes Dr. El-Sayed’s election would give a huge boost not just to Democrats this year but also to the broader progressive movement.”

Said Ocasio-Cortez: “I’m not waking up on November 4th wishing I did more to combat the smears aimed at Abdul. I’m leaving everything I can on the field.”

“A handful of megadonors are giving big to try and keep Republicans’ midterm hopes alive,” Politico reports.

“Elon Musk gave at least $276 million to boost Republicans in the third quarter, making him by far the largest spender of the cycle. Midwestern shipping magnate Richard Uihlein put $66 million more into a super PAC that has spent in federal and state races across the country, bringing his total giving this cycle past $130 million. Pennsylvania businessman Jeff Yass put another $10 million into a super PAC backing Vivek Ramaswamy’s Ohio gubernatorial bid, increasing his total donations on the cycle to over $105 million.”

“Together, the three billionaires accounted for more than $600 million in federal donations to Republicans this cycle.”

Punchbowl News: “The GOP’s candidate money problem has gone from bad to worse.”

”Republicans began the TV ad season with a massive financial advantage thanks to President Donald Trump’s $400 million war chest, unprecedented spending by mega-billionaire Elon Musk and a Supreme Court ruling that let party committees more easily help underfunded candidates.”

”But over the last few months, Democrats’ financial picture has brightened. Now we can tell just how much, thanks to campaign-finance filings due Thursday night.”

”Democratic candidates have brought in massive sums in Q3, allowing them to hold their own in key House and Senate races and blunting the GOP’s outside money edge.”

“Oh my god, holy crap. I mean, that’s a number that’s mind-blowing.”

— Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), quoted by Axios, when informed that James Talarico (D) raised $64 million for his Senate race last quarter.

“Elon Musk and his political action committee have agreed to settle two lawsuits that accused them of misleading voters with promises of $1 million checks before the 2024 presidential election and in a 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election,” the Washington Sun reports.

“Legal counsel for the parties notified a federal judge in Texas that they’d struck an agreement to end the dual class-action suits Thursday. Terms of the settlements are not public and still require court approval.”

Punchbowl News: “Elon Musk donated $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund in the third quarter, the vast majority of the Senate GOP super PAC’s $273 million quarter. Musk made two contributions: $75 million on Sept. 9 and $83 million on Sept. 23.”

“SLF then transferred identical amounts to Texas PAC, the super PAC backing Ken Paxton. So the mystery is over – if it was ever a mystery to begin with: Musk is behind the Republican money bomb in Texas.”

“In the race to replace Nancy Pelosi, the congressional campaign of California state Sen. Scott Wiener has forged an unusual arrangement with a federal super PAC: They are directly coordinated with one another,” the Washington Sun reports.

“The Wiener campaign and its coordinated super PAC, Families for an Affordable San Francisco, are pushing their relationship to legal extremes — sharing staff, a fundraising consultant, a pollster and a headquarters.”

“Elon 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,” Axios reports.

“That chat set in motion a massive rescue operation for Republican Ken Paxton funded substantially by Musk, the party’s largest donor, who gave $158 million 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.”

”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.”

Washington Post: “Outside groups have spent more than $1.2 billion on advertising across competitive congressional races… Their spending accounts for more than half of all advertising in more than 70% of competitive congressional races.”

“For Republicans, Christmas came in July,” the New York Times reports.

“That’s when Elon Musk began funneling more than $276 million into the party’s efforts to save its majorities in Congress, my colleague Teddy Schleifer has learned.”

“It is a stonkingly large amount of money, and it includes, in sum, one of the biggest political donations in history: $158 million to Senate Republicans’ main super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund.”

“It means that when we talk about the Republicans’ considerable outside spending advantage over Democrats in this midterm, we are talking, in large part, about Musk’s personal contributions.”

“And it means that a mercurial figure who once backed off political spending is back in the game.”