The top six were Musk, banking scion Timothy Mellon, casino owner Miriam Adelson, shipping supplies billionaires Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, hedge fund CEO Kenneth Griffin, and trading firm co-founder Jeffrey Yass and his wife Janine, per the analysis. 

The top donors for Democrats contributed less than the seventh-largest GOP donor, hedge fund CEO Paul Singer. He donated $66.8 million, with top Democratic donors Michael Bloomberg spending $64 million and entrepreneur Dustin Moskovitz contributing $52 million. 

Democratic megadonor George Soros, who was listed as the top donor in 2022, was not among the top donors in the 2024 cycle. However, the Fund for Policy Reform, which is funded by Soros, donated $60 million to the Democracy PAC, according to Open Secrets.

Despite dropping over a quarter of a billion dollars to secure a Republican victory in the 2024 election, Musk is not showing signs of slowing down his donations. He promised shortly after Election Day that his America PAC would “play a significant role in primaries” in the 2026 midterm elections, where House Republicans are defending a razor-thin majority. He’s also pledged to back challengers to GOP lawmakers on his “naughty list” who push back against Trump’s agenda.

The X owner’s money is being spent well before 2026, however. Groups affiliated or funded by Musk have poured more than $13 million into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race to support the conservative candidate. The contest will be Trump’s first test with swing-state voters following a flurry of executive actions praised by Republicans in Washington but raising concerns in red and blue districts over the fate of Medicaid and Social Security.

Last week, his America PAC offered registered voters $100 if they signed a petition that stated: “Judges should interpret laws as written, not rewrite them to fit their personal or political agendas. By signing below, I’m rejecting the actions of activist judges who impose their own views and demanding a judiciary that respects its role — interpreting, not legislating.”

This donation mirrors a controversial gift he rolled out during the presidential race last year, in which he announced he would give away $1 million to random battleground state voters — including in Wisconsin — who are registered to vote. To win, voters had to sign a petition from America PAC to support “free speech and the right to bear arms.”

The court race in Wisconsin is the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, drawing in $80 million as of last week. It breaks the record set in the 2022 Wisconsin court race, where the ideological makeup flipped from conservative to liberal. In light of the influx of cash, the Wisconsin Democratic Party has been hosting town halls across the state called “The People v. Musk.” 

Whether the conservative judicial candidate wins on April 1 could determine just how influential Musk’s donations can be in competitive races, and the thought of it could raise alarms in Republican circles — especially those who have irritated Trump.

After Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) announced he was a firm “no” on a stop-gap spending bill in early March, Trump said that he “SHOULD BE PRIMARIED” in a post to Truth Social. 

“I will lead the charge against him. He’s just another GRANDSTANDER, who’s too much trouble, and not worth the fight,” the president continued. “He reminds me of Liz Chaney before her historic, record breaking fall (loss!). The people of Kentucky won’t stand for it, just watch. DO I HAVE ANY TAKERS???”

Massie quickly clapped back at the president, noting that “Three times I’ve had a challenger who tried to be more MAGA than me. None busted 25 percent because my constituents prefer transparency and principles over blind allegiance.”

“Someone thinks they can control my voting card by threatening my re-election. Guess what? Doesn’t work on me,” Massie said.

Musk is operating across the aisle as well. After the 2024 election, he vowed to fund the primary challenges of “moderate” candidates to primary long-standing Democrat lawmakers. 

WISCONSIN’S RECORD-SETTING SUPREME COURT RACE SEES MUSK AND TRUMP GO ALL IN

Democrats have been hammering Musk and his relationship with Trump ever since he got a front-row seat to the president’s inauguration. With Musk’s ascension into the figurehead of the Department of Government Efficiency, Democrats have called the Tesla mogul an “unelected billionaire” and “puppet master” — particularly as Musk has weighed in on contentious legislation in the last few months.

“You’ve got Republicans in both the House and the Senate who don’t know whether they should follow orders from Donald Trump or Elon Musk,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said during a weekly press conference on Thursday.