Twenty donors now supply more than a third of US midterm money—and most back Republicans

More than one-third of the $2.8bn raised for the US midterms has come from just 20 megadonors, the Financial Times calculates. Sixteen of those 20 support Republicans. Elon Musk may spend as much as $100mn; Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman are also backing the party.

The money is distributed through organizations with distinct leverage. Maga Inc has amassed about $400mn. The No Going Back PAC has already spent roughly $89mn on advertising, while the crypto industry’s Fairshake holds about $99mn. These vehicles can pressure candidates on personnel and policy, not merely help them win. Democrats have fewer donors at the same scale, with JB Pritzker, Reid Hoffman and George Soros among the principal counterweights.

Large donors have always mattered in American politics, and money does not mechanically buy votes. The concentration still changes access and agenda-setting: a tiny group can finance primary threats, sustain an issue campaign across states or make support conditional on tariffs, AI regulation, crypto rules or taxes. The headline partisan imbalance is therefore also an institutional story about which policy disputes acquire a permanent, well-funded enforcement arm.