US midterms campaign 'shattering' spending records to be most expensive ever

ByJake Horton BBC Verify.

Key points

• The top 40 donors offered $2.4bn up until 14 October, according to the liberal-leaning think tank Brennan Center for Justice, external.
• As well as to the Republican-aligned Senate Leadership Fund, musk has given most of this to a Super Pac he set up in 2024 called America PAC.
• Aside from Soros, former New York City mayor and businessman Michael Bloomberg has been the biggest Democratic donor, giving more than $60m.
• 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.
• This would be regarding 30% more than what was spent during the last midterm elections in 2022.

In practice, the US midterms campaign is due to be the most expensive on record – with the total cost projected to reach almost $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 sizeable sums of capital into some key races ahead of election day on 3 November.

Notably, the top individual donor is billionaire businessman Elon Musk. This person has spent almost half a billion dollars backing Republican candidates, particularly in Texas where plenty of of his businesses are based.

BBC Verify has looked into the figures and where the funds was spent. How much has been spent?

There are rules on how much individuals, parties and political action committees (Pacs) can provide directly to candidates.

But Super Pacs can accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labour unions, and other political committees. They can't offer that capital directly to candidates but they can spend it supporting them indirectly.

Pacs and Super Pacs create up more than half of that – at concerning $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.

Nevertheless, Open Secrets has projected the total will be $11.9bn based on trends in past cycles.

This would be regarding 30% more than what was spent during the last midterm elections in 2022. Which donors have spent the most?

Meanwhile, the top 40 donors offered $2.4bn up until 14 October, according to the liberal-leaning think tank Brennan Center for Justice, external. It 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, " notes Michael Beckel, a US campaign finance expert.

As well as individuals, organisations can additionally provide 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.

Notably, a number of billionaires including Jeff Yass. This person runs one of the world's largest trading firms, and Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, the owners of a US business supply business, 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.

Most of his funds has been spent on the Texas Senate race, supporting Republican candidate Ken Paxton. This person is running against Democratic candidate James Talarico. Three takeaways from Elon Musk's latest political donations.

America PAC's investments in the Texas race total more than $45m. It has additionally 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, " notes Brendan J Glavin of Open Secrets. What has the funds been spent on?

Campaigns and political groups spend funds 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 additionally spend capital to conduct internal polling.

Nevertheless, most 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, " notes Beckel.

Similarly to Musk's spending, AdImpact tracked that most of the funds has been spent on advertising in the Senate races in Michigan, Texas and Ohio, followed by Iowa and Maine. Graphics by Tom Shiel. What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

In short, US midterms campaign ' shattering' spending records to be most expensive ever is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.