PoliticsMusk's defeat puts the power of political spending to the test

The world’s richest man spent nearly half a billion dollars on the 2026 midterms, far more than any other donor. Yet one of his major political bets—the Texas Senate race—ended with Democrat James Talarico defeating Republican Ken Paxton. Does the result show that even vast spending has limits, or was this race an exception?

People in this report Elon Musk