2026 midterms · results still coming in
Yesterday's election cost $5.77B. Here's who was buying.
Every dollar reported to the FEC for the 2026 midterms: what the campaigns raised, which PACs wrote the checks, and the outside money that super PACs poured in. All of it matched to who won, so you can see what the money bought. 71 of 470 races are called. The scorecards fill in as the rest are counted.
Total money
$5.77B
470 races
PAC checks to candidates
$426M
From corporations, trade groups, unions and other politicians
Outside money
$2.96B
Super PACs and party groups, for or against
Races called
71 / 470
Results as of Nov 4, 2026 UTC
The trend
Four elections, one direction: more money, bought by fewer people
| 2026* | 2024 | 2022 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Money in House and Senate races | $5.77B | $4.66B | $4.34B | $5.13B |
| Outside money in those races | $2.96B | $1.65B | $1.26B | $1.49B |
| PAC checks to candidates | $426M | $458M | $426M | $456M |
| Bigger war chest won | 95% | 91% | 89% | 84% |
| Cost of a House seat, Republican | $2.5M | $3.8M | $3.1M | $3.4M |
| Cost of a House seat, Democrat | $5.0M | $4.2M | $4.3M | $2.9M |
| Dark money into super PACs | $343M | $568M | $260M | $232M |
| Ten biggest individual donors | $412M | $1.01B | $436M | $732M |
| Elon Musk: spent, % on winners | $87M, 0% | $192M, 95% | – | – |
| AIPAC: spent, % on winners | $54M, 39% | $38M, 86% | $26M, 74% | – |
| Crypto industry: spent, % on winners | $154M, 41% | $133M, 93% | $49M, 96% | – |
| Republican machine: spent, % on winners | $356M, 12% | $1.10B, 78% | $212M, 37% | $490M, 33% |
| Democratic machine: spent, % on winners | $565M, 100% | $1.13B, 27% | $562M, 79% | $882M, 50% |
* 2026 money is through the pre-election reports and most races are still being counted, so its numbers will grow. Presidential money (2024 and 2020) is left out of the first row so the cycles compare. Donor rows show n/a where the donor file has not been processed.
The verdict so far
The big spenders: did they get what they paid for?
Elon Musk
America PAC and RBG PAC, both funded by Musk
$87M spent · 0% of decided money on the winning side · 2024: 95% on $192M
AIPAC
United Democracy Project, AIPAC's super PAC
$54M spent · 39% of decided money on the winning side · 2024: 86% on $38M
Crypto industry
Fairshake, Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress
$154M spent · 41% of decided money on the winning side · 2024: 93% on $133M
Republican machine
GOP party committees and leadership-aligned super PACs
$356M spent · 12% of decided money on the winning side · 2024: 78% on $1.10B
Congressional Leadership Fund · Americans for Prosperity Action · Senate Leadership Fund · Restoration PAC
Democratic machine
Democratic party committees and leadership-aligned super PACs
$565M spent · 100% of decided money on the winning side · 2024: 27% on $1.13B
Follow the money
164 rich people put up $882M of the outside money
Wasted the most
Donors whose money bought the most losing candidates.
- One Nation
Dark money · gave $71M · 2024: 64% won on $36M
$62M - Miriam Adelson
Las Vegas Sands · gave $66M · 2024: 93% won on $138M
$50M - Elon Musk
Tesla / SpaceX / xAI · gave $75M · 2024: 93% won on $211M
$34M - Crypto.com (Foris DAX)
Company · gave $38M
$32M - Ripple Labs Inc.
Company · gave $49M · 2024: 76% won on $49M
$31M - Jeff Yass
Susquehanna International Group · gave $55M · 2024: 73% won on $77M
$26M - Diane Hendricks
ABC Supply · gave $26M · 2024: 92% won on $30M
$22M - Stephen Schwarzman
Blackstone · gave $28M · 2024: 59% won on $33M
$22M
Bought the most winners
Donors whose money landed on the winning side.
- Reid Hoffman
LinkedIn co-founder / Greylock · gave $21M · 2024: 11% won on $27M
$13M - Michael Bloomberg
Bloomberg LP · gave $18M · 2024: 28% won on $39M
$12M - JB Pritzker
Governor of Illinois / Hyatt heir · gave $11M · 2024: 20% won on $8.1M
$10M - Public First Action Inc
Dark money · gave $26M
$9.3M - House Majority Forward
Dark money · gave $94M · 2024: 54% won on $47M
$8.3M - American Jobs and Growth Fund
Company / nonprofit · gave $8.5M · 2024: 0% won on $1.5M
$7.5M - AIPAC
Company / nonprofit · gave $30M · 2024: 86% won on $11M
$7.2M - AB Foundation
Company / nonprofit · gave $13M · 2024: 0% won on $34M
$6.3M
Who bought the winners
$203M in corporate and trade-group checks went straight to the candidates
PAC checks by type of giver
$51M of it went to candidates who have already won.
Most winners bought
Bought and paid for
Winners who ran on PAC money
Pennsylvania 15th District · incumbent
$1.2M of $2.2M raised
- Farmers' Rice Cooperative Fund$13K
- National Corn Growers Association$11K
- American Bankers Association (Aba)$10K
Did the money win?
The bigger war chest won 95% of called races
Winner outraised the runner-up 10 to 1 or more
27 races
Between 2 and 10 times as much
20 races
Up to twice as much
11 races
Winner was outraised
3 races
The price of a seat
What each party paid per seat
Senate (35 seats up)
| Party | Seats so far | Campaigns raised | PAC checks | Outside help | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republicans | 10 | $280M | $37M | $847M | $1.13B |
| Democrats | 19 | $707M | $18M | $791M | $1.50B |
Money behind each seat won: Republicans $10M (2024: $30M) · Democrats $62M (2024: $38M)
House (435 seats)
| Party | Seats so far | Campaigns raised | PAC checks | Outside help | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republicans | 12 | $787M | $192M | $615M | $1.40B |
| Democrats | 30 | $996M | $178M | $626M | $1.62B |
Money behind each seat won: Republicans $2.5M (2024: $3.8M) · Democrats $5.0M (2024: $4.2M)
Money down the drain
Most expensive losses
- 1Jon Husted$219M
Ohio Senate (special)
- 2Ken Paxton$205M
Texas Senate
- 3Ashley Hinson$102M
Iowa Senate
- 4Susan Collins$65M
Maine Senate
- 5Roger Marshall$54M
Kansas Senate
- 6Michael Whatley$41M
North Carolina Senate
- 7John E. Sununu$35M
New Hampshire Senate
- 8Darline Graham$32M
South Carolina Senate
- 9Mike Collins$27M
Georgia Senate
- 10Brian Fitzpatrick$20M
Pennsylvania 1st District
Couldn't be bought
Outraised but won anyway
- 1Bob Harvie$3.2M vs
Pennsylvania 1st District · beat Brian Fitzpatrick
$8.0M - 2Peggy Flanagan$12M vs
Minnesota Senate · beat Michele Tafoya
$13M - 3Ben Ray Luján$0 vs
New Mexico Senate · beat Larry Marker
$99K
Bought it themselves
The biggest self-funders
- 1Eric Jones$15M… Counting
California 4th District · 82% of their money
- 2Anthony Constantino$14M… Counting
New York 21st District · 100% of their money
- 3April McClain Delaney$11M✓ Won
Maryland 6th District · 88% of their money
- 4Pete Ricketts$7.3M… Counting
Nebraska Senate · 50% of their money
- 5Casey Askar$6.7M… Counting
Florida 22nd District · 90% of their money
- 6Anthony DiLorenzo$5.5M… Counting
New Hampshire 1st District · 81% of their money
- 7Doris Matsui$5.4M… Counting
California 7th District · 69% of their money
- 8Kevin Hern$5.0M✓ Won
Oklahoma Senate · 46% of their money
- 9Joe Strada$5.0M… Counting
Florida 11th District · 91% of their money
- 10Don Tracy$4.3M✗ Lost
Illinois Senate · 86% of their money
Where it all went