US midterms campaign 'shattering' spending records to be most expensive ever
The 2026 campaign is projected to cost nearly $12bn - BBC Verify looks into where all that money has come from.
Key points
- More than $9.5bn had been spent in the midterms cycle by mid-October, with a projected total of $11.9bn.
- Elon Musk is the top individual donor, giving almost half a billion dollars to Republican causes.
- Super Pacs, which can accept unlimited contributions, account for about $5.5bn of spending.
Spending in the US midterms campaign is on course to be the most expensive ever, with more than $9.5bn spent by mid-October according to the latest Federal Election Commission filings. Open Secrets projects the total will reach $11.9bn, about 30% more than in the 2022 midterms, ahead of election day on 3 November.
Most of the money comes from outside political groups known as Super Pacs, which can accept unlimited contributions but cannot give directly to candidates. Pacs and Super Pacs make up more than half of spending so far, at about $5.5bn, and their spending almost doubled in the last couple of months.
Biggest donors
Billionaire businessman Elon Musk is the top individual donor, having spent almost half a billion dollars backing Republican candidates as of October. Most went to America PAC, a Super Pac he set up in 2024, and to the Republican-aligned Senate Leadership Fund, with much of it spent on the Texas Senate race supporting Ken Paxton against James Talarico.
The top 40 donors gave $2.4bn up to 14 October, a record high for that point in a midterms cycle, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Organisations founded by George Soros gave a combined $102m to liberal groups, while Michael Bloomberg gave more than $60m to Democratic causes.
Spending in the 2026 midterms is shattering records, with more of the money coming from the wealthiest donors and groups this election
— Michael Beckel
Where the money goes
Campaigns and groups spend on staff, events and internal polling, but most funds go to advertising, especially on TV. AdImpact tracked $11.15bn in advertising spending up to the end of October, with the most spent in the Senate races in Michigan, Texas and Ohio, followed by Iowa and Maine.
Michael Beckel, a US campaign finance expert, said spending in the 2026 midterms is "shattering records", with more money coming from the wealthiest donors and groups.
