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Elon Musk's super political action committee is funneling $2.1 million to Republican candidates in battleground districts across the country, possibly helping the world's richest person build a bench of allies in Congress.
The group's support could be key to determining whether Republicans hang onto their House majority after the November election.
The latest spending, detailed in a new federal filing, is the first major push from the group Musk founded earlier this year to influence elections outside of the presidential race. The group, America PAC, has so far focused most of its spending supporting former President Donald Trump's White House bid.
In New York, the group is supporting Representative Mike Lawler's race in the New York Westchester suburbs and Representative Marcus Molinaro's upstate district. The PAC is also funding three incumbents in California facing reelection battles: Representatives Michelle Steel, David Valadao and Ken Calvert.
The spending in the more than a dozen races is largely for in-the-field canvassers to go door-to-door to persuade voters and for digital media, mirroring the focus of the group's spending and strategy to promote Trump.
Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, founded America PAC in May, after years of only making modest donations to federal candidates. As the US presidential race enters its final sprint, many in Washington and across the country are especially focused on how Musk, the world's richest person with a $248.2 billion fortune, will wield his money and power to influence the campaign.
The moves are the latest demonstration of how Musk, whose companies boast billions of dollars worth of federal contracts and who has personally bristled at government regulations, is expanding his political influence network to include members of Congress, where federal spending decisions are made and legislation is shaped.
Musk officially endorsed Trump's reelection bid in July after the first assassination attempt on the president's life. Trump has suggested that Musk could lead commission to review federal expenditures, an idea the entrepreneur pitched to the Republican nominee earlier this year.
Musk has also used X, the social media platform that he bought for $44 billion, as a megaphone for his brash brand of increasingly right wing politics and to promote Trump and other candidates.
America PAC is also spending in Maine and Nebraska, the two states that split their electoral vote where increased turnout among Republicans could help both the House candidate and Trump. In Maine, the PAC is funding efforts to elect former NASCAR driver Austin Theriault who is challenging Representative Jared Golden, one of the most moderate House Democrats. Republican incumbent Don Bacon in Nebraska, whose race is increasingly competitive, is also benefiting from the PAC's spending.