Republicans may be glad that Elon Musk is gone from the White House, but they’re not happy he’s taking his money with him.
The world’s richest man said at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday that he believes he’s “done enough” when it comes to political spending.
“I think in terms of political spending, I’m going to do a lot less in the future,” Musk said.
But that news was not welcomed by Republicans, who feared that they could be losing their “whale” before the midterm elections, per Politico.
Musk was Donald Trump’s top financial backer in the 2024 election, spending at least $250 million in the final months of the president’s campaign after Trump was shot in July.
But Trump wasn’t the only beneficiary of Musk’s immense wealth: America’s top political donor also dropped north of $3 million on a key Wisconsin Supreme Court race in April, which much to the party’s chagrin saw the Republican-backed candidate Brad Schimel lose by double digits. (Musk-backed groups, including America PAC and Rebuilding America’s Future, spent another $19 million to sponsor Schimel.)
The unpopular Tesla CEO became a central figure in the Wisconsin race, and it’s unclear if his desperate and sometimes illegal attempts to help Schimel win—including bribing voters to ideologically side with the conservative candidate—did more harm than good at the voting booth. Regardless, Schimel’s poor performance has led political observer to wonder if the entire experience left a bad taste in the billionaire’s mouth.
If it did, it would come at an especially inopportune time for Republicans, who are quietly hoping that there’s still enough favor in the tank to influence Musk to support Winsome Earle-Sears for Virginia governor, who “faces a major cash disadvantage against Democrat Abigail Spanberger,” according to Politico.
Republicans had come to rely on Musk’s seemingly endless cashflow. In the wake of the November election, Musk declared that his super PACs would “play a significant role in primaries.” In the following months, Musk threatened to use his money to fund primary challengers to Trump’s agenda and go after Democrats, and that he would be preparing “for the midterms and any intermediate elections, as well as looking at elections at the district attorney level.”
If Musk sticks to his word this time, Republicans can wave that cash goodbye. Still, some conservatives are crossing their fingers that the unlikable billionaire will return to party politics—along with his open faucet of cash.
“I believe he means it right now,” GOP consultant Josh Novotney told Politico. “But every election is unique. So he may be motivated to be active again in the future.”
Democrats, meanwhile, don’t expect Musk’s influence to dissipate all at once. Instead, strategists on the other side of the aisle predict that Musk’s money will begin to flow through dark channels that will make it harder to track his influence.
“I believe he will start moving his money in the background, through nonprofits,” Pat Dennis, president of major Democratic super PAC American Bridge, told Politico. “It’ll be a lot more of that now.”
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