US midterms campaign ‘shattering’ spending records to be most expensive ever
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The US midterms campaign is set to be the most expensive on record – with the total cost projected to reach nearly $12bn (£9bn), according to Open Secrets, an independent organisation that tracks campaign finance.
Most of the spending is driven by outside political groups – known as Super Political Action Committees (Super Pacs) – pouring large sums of money into some key races ahead of election day on 3 November.
The top individual donor is billionaire businessman Elon Musk, who has spent almost half a billion dollars backing Republican candidates, particularly in Texas where many of his companies are based.
BBC Verify has looked into the figures and where the money was spent.
How much has been spent?
There are rules on how much people, parties and political action committees (Pacs) can give directly to candidates.
But Super Pacs can accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labour unions, and other political committees. They can’t give that money directly to candidates but they can spend it supporting them indirectly.
According to the latest Federal Election Commission, external (FEC) filings which run to mid-October, more than $9.5bn had been spent in this midterms cycle.
Pacs and Super Pacs make up more than half of that – at about $5.5bn – with their spending in the last couple of months almost doubling.
Candidates, parties and outside groups have to report their spending to the FEC, but the full totals won’t be available until after the midterm elections.
However, Open Secrets has projected the total will be $11.9bn based on trends in past cycles.
This would be about 30% more than what was spent during the last midterm elections in 2022.
Which donors have spent the most?
The top 40 donors gave $2.4bn up until 14 October, according to the liberal-leaning think tank Brennan Center for Justice, external, which is a record high for that point in a midterms cycle.
“Spending in the 2026 midterms is shattering records, with more of the money coming from the wealthiest donors and groups this election,” says Michael Beckel, a US campaign finance expert.
As well as individuals, organisations can also give to Pacs. For example, Geosor Corp and Fund for Policy Reform, both founded by the billionaire financier George Soros, have given a combined $102m to liberal groups.
Aside from Soros, former New York City mayor and businessman Michael Bloomberg has been the biggest Democratic donor, giving more than $60m.
Several billionaires including Jeff Yass, who runs one of the world’s largest trading firms, and Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, the owners of a US business supply company, have given over $100m this campaign to Republican causes, according to FEC filings.
But Musk has given by far the most of any individual, donating almost half a billion dollars as of October.
Musk has given most of this to a Super Pac he set up in 2024 called America PAC, as well as to the Republican-aligned Senate Leadership Fund.
Most of his money has been spent on the Texas Senate race, supporting Republican candidate Ken Paxton, who is running against Democratic candidate James Talarico.
Image source, Getty ImagesAmerica PAC’s investments in the Texas race total more than $45m. It has also invested around $10m into both of the Senate races in Michigan and Ohio.
“Crypto companies have also been very active this cycle, with Ripple and Coinbase combining to give $63 million to fund Super Pacs promoting the crypto industry’s interests,” says Brendan J Glavin of Open Secrets.
What has the money been spent on?
Campaigns and political groups spend money trying to reach voters in a variety of ways – including hiring staff to do on-the-ground voter outreach and hosting campaign events like rallies. They also spend money to conduct internal polling.
However, the majority of funds are spent on advertising – especially on TV.
In this cycle, $11.15bn has been spent on advertising up until the end of October, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact, external.
“Traditional broadcast television remains the top beneficiary of advertising expenditures, though expenditures on digital ads continue to increase,” says Beckel.
Similarly to Musk’s spending, AdImpact tracked that most of the money has been spent on advertising in the Senate races in Michigan, Texas and Ohio, followed by Iowa and Maine.
Graphics by Tom Shiel.
