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The billionaires funding Republicans in the midterm elections

RusticGorilla

• 7 min read
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The billionaires funding Republicans in the midterm elections

Billionaires are pouring record amounts of money into political committees and super PACs ahead of the midterm elections, with the majority going to Republican and conservative-aligned causes. According to an accounting by the New York Times, the largest individual donors (excluding companies, non-profits, etc.), have given over $718 million so far this election cycle. GOP donors make up $614 million, or 85%, of that total. In this post, Keep Track looks at who these billionaires are and where they are spending their money. All data comes from FEC campaign finance records, which can be searched by the public here.

Jeffrey Yass, co-founder of trading firm Susquehanna International Group, has given over $94 million to political PACs and campaigns since January 2025. The majority of his donations have gone to V-PAC, MAGA Inc., libertarian PACs, and pro-school choice PACs.

  • $29 million to Protect Freedom, Club for Growth, and Win it Back, which raise money for libertarian candidates
  • $21.5 million to School Freedom Fund and AFC Victory Fund, PACs that raise money for pro-school choice candidates
  • $20 million to V-PAC, a super PAC supporting Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign for Governor of Ohio
  • $16 million to MAGA Inc., Trump's flagship super PAC

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and Space X, has given over $90 million to political PACs and campaigns since January 2025. The majority of his donations have gone to America PAC, MAGA Inc., V-PAC, Fight for Kentucky, and Republican House and Senate Committees.

  • $50 million to America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC created by Musk
  • $20 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund and Senate Leadership Fund
  • $10 million to Fight for Kentucky, a super PAC that supported businessman Nate Morris during the GOP primary for Senate
  • $5 million to V-PAC, a super PAC supporting Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign for Governor of Ohio
  • $5 million to MAGA Inc., Trump's flagship super PAC

Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, co-founders of the shipping supply company Uline, have given over $71 million to political PACs and campaigns since January 2025. The majority of his donations have gone to Restoration of America, Fair Courts America, Northwoods, and Republican House and Senate Committees.

  • $57.7 million to Restoration of America, a super PAC that supports Republican candidates in swing states
  • $5 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, Congressional Leadership fund, National Republican Senate Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, and Defend our Majority (a joint fundraising committee led by GOP Rep. Steve Scalise).
  • $4 million to Fair Courts America, a super PAC that supports Republican candidates in judicial races
  • $2.5 million to Northwoods, a super PAC that supports Republican candidates in Wisconsin

Miriam Adelson, widow of Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, has given $68 million to political PACs and campaigns since January 2025. The majority of her donations have gone to MAGA Inc. and Republican House and Senate Committees.

  • $41.7 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, Congressional Leadership fund, National Republican Senate Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, and Republican National Committee.
  • $25 million to MAGA Inc., Trump's flagship super PAC

Paul Singer, hedge fund manager and CEO of Elliot Management, has given $52 million to political PACs and campaigns since January 2025. The majority of his donations have gone to STW, United Democracy Project, MAGA KY, America 21, and Republican House and Senate Committees.

  • $24 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, Congressional Leadership fund, National Republican Senate Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, and Republican National Committee.
  • $15 million to STW PAC, a super PAC created by Singer which has not spent any money on the midterm elections yet
  • $2.5 million to the United Democracy Project, and AIPAC-aligned super PAC
  • $1 million to MAGA KY, a super PAC that opposed the re-election of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), and $3 million to America 21 PAC, a super PAC that primarily spent money opposing Massie

Marc Andreessen, cofounder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (A16z), has given over $42 million to political PACs and campaigns since January 2025. The majority of his donations have gone to Leading the Future, Fairshake, MAGA Inc., and Republican House and Senate Committees.

  • $25 million to Leading the Future, a pro-AI super PAC
  • $11.9 million to Fairshake, a pro-crypto currency super PAC
  • $3 million to MAGA Inc., Trump's flagship super PAC
  • $1.6 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, and House Speaker Mike Johnson’s Grow the Majority PAC

Ben Horowitz, cofounder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (A16z), has given over $45 million to political PACs and campaigns since January 2025. Like his business partner, Marc Andreessen, the majority of Horowitz’s donations have gone to Leading the Future, Fairshake, MAGA Inc., and Republican House and Senate Committees.

  • $25 million to Leading the Future, a pro-AI super PAC
  • $11.9 million to Fairshake, a pro-crypto currency super PAC
  • $6 million to MAGA Inc., Trump's flagship super PAC
  • $1.3 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, and House Speaker Mike Johnson’s Grow the Majority PAC

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, investors and crypto-currency entrepreneurs, have given over $35 million to political PACs and campaigns since January 2025. The majority of their donations have gone to MAGA Inc., First Principals Digital, and Republican House and Senate Committees.

  • $22 million to MAGA Inc., Trump's flagship super PAC
  • $8.9 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Congressional Leadership Fund, Senate Leadership Fund, and various state GOP committees
  • $1 million to First Principals Digital, a GOP super PAC that raises money for pro-crypto candidates

The largest pro-AI super PAC: Leading the Future

Screenshot of Leading the Future PAC's homepage

As noted above, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have each given the PAC $25 million, for a total of $50 million from the pair. Their venture capital firm A16z has additionally donated $50 million to Leading the Future. OpenAI’s Greg Brockman and his wife, Anna, have donated a total of $25 million to the PAC, as well.

Funds:

  • Think Big, a super PAC that supports pro-AI Democrats. Think Big spent over $8 million to defeat AI safety advocate and New York Assemblyman Alex Bores, who was running for a U.S. House seat in the state. The PAC has also spent $1.1 million to support Ben McAdams, a Democratic nominee in Utah; $1.1 million to support the re-election of Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY); $639k to support the re-election of Rep. Rob Menendez, Jr., (D-NJ); $599k to support the re-election of Rep. Jimmy Penetta (D-CA); $571k to support the re-election of Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY).
  • American Mission, a super PAC that supports pro-AI Republicans. American Mission has spent $960k to support Jim Kingston, a GOP candidate in Georgia; $779k to support Amanda McKinney, a GOP candidate in Washington state; $747k to support Chris Gober, a GOP candidate in Texas; $686k to support the re-election of Rep. Clay Fuller (R-GA); $676k to support Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), who is running to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell; $667k to support the re-election of Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA); $616k to support Jay Feely, a GOP candidate in Arizona.

The largest pro-crypto super PAC: Fairshake

Screenshot of Fairshake PAC's homepage

In addition to the $23.8 million from Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, Fairshake has gotten nearly $50 million since January 2025 from Ripple Labs, a crypto company based in San Francisco, California, and $33 million from Coinbase.

  • Fairshake has spent $10 million so far opposing Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, who is running for election to the U.S. Senate, and another $2.4 million opposing La Shawn Ford, who is running for a U.S. House seat in Illinois.

Funds:

  • Protect Progress, a super PAC that supports pro-crypto Democrats. Protect Progress has spent $6.4 million to support the re-election of Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX); $5.2 million to support Adrian Boafo, a Democratic candidate in Maryland; $4.2 million to support Jasmine Clark, a Democratic candidate in Georgia; $1.7 million to support the (failed) re-election of Shri Thanedar (D-MI); $1.4 million to support the re-election of Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY); $1 million to support the re-election of James Walkinshaw (D-VA). Protect Progress has also spent $268k to oppose DSA member Donavan McKinney, running for a U.S. seat in Michigan, and $119k to oppose Illinois Lt. Gov. Stratton’s U.S. Senate campaign.
  • Defend American Jobs, a super PAC that supports pro-crypto Republicans. Defend American Jobs has spent $12 million to support the re-election of Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL); $7 million to support the re-election of Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY); $1.6 million to support the re-election of Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL); $771k to support Jessica Steinmann, a GOP candidate in Texas; $735k to support the re-election of Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK); $708k to support Houston Gaines, a GOP candidate in Georgia; $615k to support Carlos De La Cruz, a GOP candidate in Texas.