The Senate Leadership Fund, a Senate super PAC representing Republicans, raised its largest quarter in history, entering the final weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections with more than $155 million in cash, according to a new Federal Election Commission report filed Thursday.
SLF brought in $272.9 million from July to September, including $209.7 million from donors.
tesla and space x CEO Elon Musk provided most of the money, giving SLF $158 million in September through an affiliated Texas PAC created to support Republican Ken Paxton. His two donations of $75 million and $83 million are among the largest political contributions in history.
Musk’s donations alone exceeded Democratic Senate Majority PAC’s entire third quarter fundraising. The super PAC reported raising a record $151 million during the period and said it ended September with $111.8 million in cash, a third-quarter record for the group. The super PAC’s FEC filings are not yet available.
SLF’s performance shattered previous records. The group brought in approximately $116 million in the third quarter of 2024 and $111 million in 2022. In 2020, when it filed its monthly report, SLF had raised about $157 million from July to September. The previous highest quarterly amount was about $216 million in the last three months of 2020, according to a CNBC review of FEC filings.
The record influx provides a significant financial cushion for Republicans as they fight to maintain their 53-seat majority in the U.S. Senate, which has become increasingly defensive in the final stages of the election.
This month, after spending more than $30 million in perennial battleground North Carolina, SLF paused additional advertising and redirected resources to Kansas, according to data from AdImpact. In Kansas, Republican Sen. Roger Marshall faces an unexpectedly competitive challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton.
In Nebraska, the Wall Street Journal reported this week that SLF has spent $15 million defending Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts, including $7 million through its Cornhusker Majority affiliate. Trump carried Nebraska by more than 20 percentage points in 2024.
Super PACs have also been at the center of Republican interference in Texas, with Democrat James Talarico turning what was expected to be a safe Republican Senate race into one of the most expensive races in the country.
Republican groups spent about $122 million in Texas in September alone, and as of early October had secured an additional $66 million in ad spending through Election Day, according to AdImpact data.
Talarico announced Thursday that he had raised $64 million in the third quarter, the largest third-quarter fundraising total for a Senate candidate in history. Paxton raised $10.2 million, according to FEC filings.
