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Elon Musk dumps $158 million into Texas Senate race that Trump now fears losing in eleventh-hour Hail Mary

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Cite

Schwab, N. (2026, October 16). Elon Musk dumps $158 million into Texas Senate race that Trump now fears losing in eleventh-hour Hail Mary. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16214925/elon-musk-texas-senate-trump.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-16 · by Nikki Schwab

Quick Summary

Elon Musk has donated $158 million to boost Republican Ken Paxton’s campaign in the Texas Senate race. The donations were made through the Senate Leadership Fund and then transferred to a PAC supporting Paxton. This move comes as President Donald Trump expresses doubts about Paxton's ability to win, particularly after recent polls showed Paxton trailing Democratic challenger James Talarico. Musk’s intervention seems to have had an impact; a new poll shows Paxton slightly ahead of Talarico within the margin of error.
Written by AI on 2026-10-16, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Billionaire Elon Musk donated $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund PAC in September, which then immediately transferred the funds to support Republican Ken Paxton’s campaign for the Texas Senate seat against Democratic opponent James Talarico. This donation marks Musk's significant return to political giving after a period of reduced activity. The two donations were made on September 9 and September 23, totaling over half of the PAC's receipts in the third quarter of this year. With polls indicating a tight race, Republican strategists are relying heavily on this influx of money to mobilize their base ahead of the November 3 election, aiming to counteract what they perceive as an enthusiasm gap among their supporters.

Written for “Musk Donates To Republican Candidates” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Musk Donates To Republican Candidates
Politics · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
CBS News
Hedges 3 of 18 claims Outlet record 65/100
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes Elon Musk's overall $276 million donation for Republicans across various races, while Article B focuses specifically on the $158 million donated to support Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race.”
The Hindu
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 3 of 16 claims Outlet record 77/100
“The articles describe different donations by Elon Musk at different times and for different political purposes.”
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the campaign: one focuses on total ad spending while the other reports a specific large donation by Elon Musk.”
CBS News
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 1 of 17 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles describe different fundraising events: one about Talarico's record-breaking $64 million haul and another about Elon Musk donating $158 million to Paxton's campaign.”
Semafor
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 0 of 9 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles describe different fundraising events: one covers various Senate Democratic candidates' third-quarter fundraising successes, while the other focuses on Elon Musk's large donations to a Republican Texas Senate candidate.”
The Independent
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 0 of 24 claims Outlet record 59/100
“While both articles discuss the same political race and Elon Musk's financial support for a Republican candidate, Article A focuses on Democratic candidate James Talarico's rally and his comparison to David against Goliath, while Article B discusses Musk's financial contributions to boost Republican Ken Paxton's campaign.”
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 6 of 39 claims Outlet record 66/100
Washington Examiner
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe different events: one about Elon Musk's financial contributions to a Texas Senate race and another about potential Democratic investigations if they win Congress.”
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different donations made by Elon Musk in separate contexts: one for general midterm election support and another specifically for the Texas Senate race.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
69/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-16 · how these are computed

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Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
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Publisher

Daily Mail · 9101 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Nikki Schwab
15 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Take Daily Mail's quiz and find out Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico compared his rival, Republican Ken Paxton, to an 'obnoxious' bar patron during his final outing as a Senate candidate before Election Day. Talarico packed downtown Austin's barbecue joint Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater Monday night with nervous Democrats who were holding their breath to see if a Democrat could finally win statewide after 32 years. At a rally alongside Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa, the 37-year-old Talarico stuffed his speech with pop culture references and with an example that his beer-drinking supporters would easily understand.
🔮 Take Daily Mail's quiz and find out President Donald Trump finished his sprint to the midterm elections Sunday night with final rallies in Iowa and Kansas, as a doomsday poll showed Republican candidates behind in all seven key Senate races. Trump hoped that headlining 30 rallies - and pumping up his MAGA base - would prevent a blue tsunami, where the GOP majorities in the House and Senate are wiped out.
🔮 The blue-collar coalition that powered him to the White House in 2016, and stuck with him through 2020 and 2024, may finally be breaking.
🔮 With nearly all reputable experts forecasting that the House will be captured by the Democrats, the focus is on control of the Senate, which will be decided by a handful states.
🔮 Trump was expected to head to Salina, Kansas, on Saturday to boost Republican Senator Roger Marshall, who's in a surprisingly tight reelection race, but strangely abandoned the adoring crowds and scheduled tele-rallies from Mar-a-Lago instead.
🔮 'It says something to the effect that: "Under no circumstances, and for any reason, will you even consider thinking about running for President if you had,"' Trump said before changing tack.
🔮 He suggested the media would have been all over the story had his mother bad-mouthed the President.
🔮 As for Melania Trump, according to observers, she didn't really give Kimberly the time of day when she was with Don Jr, so why would she now?
🔮 White House press secretary Katie Zacharia held a 14-minute press briefing on Tuesday, which was widely panned for its length and substance Over on CNN, pundit Ana Navarro had joked Tuesday night after Zacharia's first briefing that Jennings 'might get another shot at the apple.
🔮 The new press secretary told Real America's Voice's Jack Posobiec Thursday that her briefing materials weren't fully baked until 8 am Tuesday morning - and she was set to meet the press at 9:30 am.
Also by Nikki Schwab
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 15 articles by Nikki Schwab →

Topics

Democratic GOP Republican Senate Texas

Subjects

Musk PERSON · 11× Paxton PERSON · 11× Texas GPE · 9× Trump PERSON · 5× Republican NORP · 4× Elon Musk PERSON · 3× James Talarico PERSON · 3× Ken Paxton PERSON · 3× Senate ORG · 3× Talarico PERSON · 3×

Narrative

- Sign up HERE to our DC Insider newsletter - your guide to what's rocking Washington, rattling the White House and setting tongues wagging on the Hill A whopping $158 million from trillionaire Elon Musk is being used to boost the struggling campaign of Republican Texas Senate hopeful Ken Paxton.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-16
🔮 A poll released late Thursday indicated that Musk's dollars might already be turning the ship around.

Claims (23 extracted, 1 hedged)

- Sign up HERE to our DC Insider newsletter - your guide to what's rocking Washington, rattling the White House and setting tongues wagging on the Hill A whopping $158 million from trillionaire Elon Musk is being used to boost the struggling campaign of Republican Texas Senate hopeful Ken Paxton. asserted
million → sign → Paxton
Federal Election Commission financial disclosure documents released Thursday showed that Musk made two donations of $75 million and $83 million in September to the GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund. asserted
Musk → release → Fund
In turn, that money was moved to the Texas PAC, which is supporting Paxton, who has been trailing Democratic upstart James Talarico in recent polls. asserted
who → move → polls
The disclosure comes as it appears President Donald Trump has lost confidence that Paxton can win the traditionally deep red state. asserted
Paxton → come → state
On Thursday, Trump blasted 'weak and ineffective political hacks,' incumbent Texas GOP Senator John Cornyn - who lost a primary to Paxton - and Fox News Channel political contributor Karl Rove, and said they'd be to blame if Paxton lost. asserted
Paxton → blast → Paxton
He tore into Paxton's Democratic opponent, James Talarico, whom he's dubbed 'TalaFREAKO. asserted
he → tear → whom
Rove, a key adviser to Republican President George W Bush, has publicly said that he won't support Paxton over his corruption charges and infidelity. asserted
he → say → charges
A poll released late Thursday indicated that Musk's dollars might already be turning the ship around. uncertain
dollars → release → ship
Elon Musk (left) donated $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, which has been funneled to Texas PAC, which is supporting the struggling Senate bid of Ken Paxton. asserted
which → donate → Paxton
President Donald Trump (right) presents Musk with the National Medal of Science earlier this month Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate hopeful Ken Paxton attends a rally earlier this week with Vice President JD Vance. asserted
Paxton → present → Vance
His campaign is benefiting from more than $150 million donated by trillionaire Elon Musk InsiderAdvantage found that Paxton was polling one point ahead of Talarico - but within the margin of error - though a more positive sign after a series of polls showed him behind the Democrat. asserted
him → benefit → Democrat
Cornyn has said he will vote for Paxton - who Trump endorsed, giving him an edge in their primary - but is not actively campaigning for his former rival. asserted
Trump → say → rival
Axios reported Thursday that Musk's team reached out to the Senate Leadership Fund in late August to discuss worrying signs surrounding the Texas Senate race. asserted
team → report → race
Talarico's ads were blanketing the airwaves, whereas Paxton's message was getting lost. asserted
message → blanket → airwaves
Musk's top political adviser Chris Young and SLF President Alex Latcham devised a plan to quickly raise $20 million in support of Paxton - with Musk donating $10 million, the SLF bringing in $5 million and a pro-Paxton super PAC raising $5 million, Axios said. asserted
Axios → devise → million
That relationship expanded with the September creation of Texas PAC, where Musk appears to be the sole donor. asserted
Musk → expand → PAC
Musk was a major donor for Trump during his 2024 presidential run in the aftermath of the Butler, Pennsylvania assassination attempt, but had a fiery public falling out in June 2025 after the SpaceX boss left his post at the Department of Government Efficiency. asserted
boss → have → Efficiency
But by November, Musk was back in Trump's fold and invited to attend a White House dinner with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. asserted
Musk → invite → Prince
Democratic Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico speaks to supporters Thursday night in San Marcos, Texas. asserted
Talarico → speak → Marcos
Polls have been showing that Talarico has a strong shot at winning in the traditionally red state, though a poll out Thursday showed Paxton one point ahead He resumed donating to Republican causes in December, Axios said. asserted
Axios → show → December
Musk also attended Trump's state dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping in last month. asserted
Musk → attend → month
The Texas race is of particular interest to Musk because SpaceX is headquartered in the state. asserted
SpaceX → headquarter → state
The Daily Mail reached out to SLF for comment. asserted
Mail → reach → comment
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