“Elon Musk’s super PAC, which spent over $260 million to back President Donald Trump and other Republicans in 2024, has entered the midterms. The group, known as America PAC, just reported its first major spending of 2026. All of the money supported Republicans,” the Washington Post reports.

“The group reported $800,000 in spending, almost all of it going to Senate races, according to federal campaign finance filings. The biggest beneficiary was Ken Paxton, who is facing Democrat James Talarico in Texas’s U.S. Senate race and received $250,000 from Musk’s group.”

“With early voting about to begin in competitive midterm races, President Donald Trump has kept most of his super PAC money on the sidelines, causing Republican leaders to conclude it’s too late to fully deploy the cash in the midterms and that he intends to hold on to much of it for his own purposes,” the Washington Post reports.

”Trump’s political advisers have been assuring anxious allies that MAGA Inc. the president’s super PAC that had more than $400 million on hand as of July 31, will come to the rescue during the peak campaign season after Labor Day. But Republicans are increasingly skeptical, and suspicious that Trump — who must personally approve the spending — has other ideas.”

“Money is starting to trickle out of President Donald Trump’s super PAC. But as September begins, GOP donors and other Republicans say it should be gushing,” Politico reports.

“The concern comes even as Republicans maintain a large financial advantage over Democrats. But with the president’s poll numbers near record lows and Democratic voters appearing more enthused, GOP donors believe no resource should go untapped.”

New York Times: “All across America, the midterm elections are drowning in dark money.”

“A New York Times review of advertising data, campaign-finance filings and tax records revealed that about $1 billion in anonymous money is sloshing through the political landscape in 2026, a staggering sum and yet almost certainly a low-end estimate, given how difficult this money is to trace.”

“Billionaires and the companies they control have made up nearly all of the top individual donors this election cycle,” Forbes reports.

“Billionaire Elon Musk’s super PAC launched digital ads in key Senate battlegrounds this month, the group’s first significant advertising spending since last year’s state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin,” NBC News reports.

“The new digital ads are running in Maine, Michigan and New Hampshire target specific lists of people and urge viewers to register to vote, according to a review of Meta political ad data. Some ads are generic, featuring reminders that the Senate races in their states could decide control of the chamber.”

“Some U.S. companies with close ties to President Trump are taking steps to gain favor with Democrats, worried they will become targets if Republicans lose control of the House,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Big tech companies, in particular those that made major donations to Trump’s legacy projects, are preparing for congressional and even potential criminal investigations, according to advisers, lobbyists and board members. Washington-based lawyers and lobbyists say that their clients are asking: What are our vulnerabilities?”

“Meta Platforms and others are writing big checks for Democrats ahead of the midterms, according to people familiar with the matter, a counterbalance to the tens of millions they gave to the White House ballroom and Republican initiatives.”

“Democratic candidates’ call to get money out of politics is a central theme in the 2026 midterms, with dozens of Democratic incumbents and candidates pledging to reject donations from corporate political action committees,” NOTUS reports.

“But there’s a workaround that is enabling the flow of money from business interests into the campaign accounts of many Democrats who otherwise reject cash from corporate PACs.”

“In the obscure yet consequential world of the cost of television ads for political candidates and parties, Democrats scored a legal victory on Tuesday ahead of the midterm elections,” the New York Times reports.

“A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that low-cost ad rates that candidates qualify for do not have to be made available to political parties.”

“The ruling is a win for Democrats, whose candidates tend to raise more money than its committees. The opposite is true for Republicans, whose party committees are more flush with cash than many of its individual candidates.”

“The top donors in American politics have poured more than $1.6 billion so far this cycle into influencing the country’s politics,” the Washington Post reports.

“The donors lean Republican, and cash could prove critical for the GOP to maintain control of Congress in November. Republican-leaning donors gave $1.05 billion, compared with $410 million from Democratic-leaning givers and $230 million from bipartisan and special-interest groups for the midterm elections.”