根据《WIRED》对联邦竞选财务数据的分析，埃隆·马斯克主导的政治运作主要聚焦于此次中期选举中最为关键的几场竞选。
Elon Musk’s political operation is focused on the most consequential races of the midterm elections, according to a WIRED analysis of federal campaign finance data.
截至10月6日，隶属于马斯克的主要超级政治行动委员会“America PAC”已将其今年用于中期选举的2670万美元中的2100万美元，投入到七场备受瞩目的美国参议院选举中。这些选区的选情普遍胶着，胜负难料，若民主党能在这些地区获胜，便有望在11月掌控参议院。
As of October 6, America PAC, the main Musk-affiliated super PAC, had deployed $21 million of the $26.7 million it has spent on this year’s races into seven key US Senate contests that are widely seen as close—if not toss-ups—and represent a path for Democrats to take control of the chamber this November.
为实时追踪“America PAC”在中期选举中的资金流向，《WIRED》专门制作了一个每日更新的追踪工具。该工具详细列出了该委员会的资金投入情况——从具体选区到其对整个选举季的整体影响力。相关数据均源自“America PAC”向联邦选举委员会提交的文件，该委员会每日更新这些文件，其中详细记录了该委员会用于投放广告、邮寄宣传材料及发送短信等各项开支。
To monitor America PAC’s spending in the midterms, WIRED has created a live tracker that updates daily and highlights where America PAC is putting money into the midterms, from individual races to Musk’s overall influence on the election season. It draws on America PAC’s filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which the agency processes daily and which lists all the payments America PAC has made for ads, mailers, and texts.
与两年前相比，“America PAC”的规模有所缩小，运作方向也发生了变化。该委员会于2024年5月向联邦选举委员会注册，当年共支出2.61亿美元，其中约95%的资金来自马斯克。而今年截至目前，其支出额仅为2670万美元，这一数值约为2024年同期8590万美元支出额的1/3；当时该委员会投入总统选举的资金占比超过90%，用于参议院选举的资金则寥寥无几。
America PAC is smaller, and aimed differently, than it was two years ago. America PACed with the FEC in May 2024 and spent $261 million that cycle, with about 95 percent of its funding coming from Musk. The $26.7 million it has spent so far this year is about a third of the $85.9 million it had spent by the same point in 2024, when more than 90 percent of that money went to the presidential race and almost none to Senate races.
《WIRED》的梳理显示，在本轮选举周期中，“America PAC”的大部分资金都用于资助那些旨在打击民主党的竞选活动。截至10月6日，该委员会每支出1美元支持共和党候选人，就会投入超过2美元来反对民主党候选人；在参议院选举中，这一比例更是达到3:1。
For this election cycle, most of America PAC’s spending has been concentrated on financing campaign efforts attacking Democrats, WIRED’s review shows. For every dollar spent supporting a Republican candidate, more than two went to opposing a Democrat, as of October 6. In Senate races, it was three.
对于共和党人而言，今年11月的政治局势尤为严峻：如果民主党能在四个关键选区获胜并保住目前掌控的三个参议院席位，便有望在参议院中占据多数。而由民主党掌控参议院所带来的影响也将极为深远，尤其是对马斯克而言——他很可能成为国会调查的目标，其旗下企业也可能受到涉及科技与人工智能监管的相关法案的影响。
The political stakes are especially high for Republicans this November because of the possibility of Democrats taking the majority in the US Senate, should the party flip four battleground races and retain three of the Senate seats it currently holds. The implications of a Democratic-controlled Senate would also be far-reaching for Musk in particular, who could become the target of congressional investigations, while his companies might be affected by bills related to tech and AI regulation.
相关文件显示，在共和党处于劣势的关键参议院选举中，竞选宣传内容里负面信息与正面信息的比例更加失衡。
In the most fraught Senate races, where the GOP has been on the back foot, the ratio of negative to positive campaign messaging has been even more skewed, the filings show.
在马斯克居住地、也是特斯拉与SpaceX总部所在的德克萨斯州，该政治行动委员会已斥资逾760万美元投放广告以反对民主党候选人詹姆斯·塔拉里科，另投入110万美元支持共和党候选人、德克萨斯州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿。由于帕克斯顿此前深陷诸多丑闻，包括联邦司法部曾对其涉嫌滥用职权展开调查但最终未提出任何指控，自8月中旬以来他在各项民调中始终落后于塔拉里科。马里斯特大学最新民调显示，塔拉里科领先幅度达6个百分点。
For the Senate race in Texas, where Musk lives and where his companies Tesla and SpaceX are based, the group has spent more than $7.6 million on ads opposing Democratic candidate James Talarico and $1.1 million backing Republican candidate and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. In part due to a litany of past scandals, including a federal investigation into alleged misuse of office, which the Department of Justice closed without any charges brought against him, Paxton has trailed Talarico in every public poll since the middle of August. The most recent poll ofed voters by Marist University places Talarico 6 points ahead.
“美国政治行动委员会”在德克萨斯州的最大笔支出为两笔各130万美元的数字媒体广告投放，目的同样是反对塔拉里科。其余资金则主要用于印刷材料制作、邮资支付及竞选电话联络。该委员会并未投入资金用于电视广告投放，相关事宜由其他外部团体负责。
The largest single expenditures by America PAC in Texas have been two $1.3 million digital media buys opposing Talarico. Most of the rest of the money has gone to paying for printed materials, postage, and campaign calls. America PAC has not put any money into television ads, which is being handled by other outside groups.
在艾奥瓦州，该委员会用于攻击民主党人乔什·图雷克的经费是支持共和党人阿什利·欣森经费的14倍。截至目前，该委员会在参议院选举上的总支出中，超过四分之三的资金都用于帮助共和党保住现有席位。
In Iowa, the PAC has spent 14 times more money attacking Democrat Josh Turek than it has backing Republican Ashley Hinson. More than three-quarters of all Senate spending so far has gone to defending seats Republicans already hold.
即便在种族差距相对较小的选区——比如俄亥俄州的参议院选举——“美国政治行动委员会”用于攻击前民主党参议员谢罗德·布朗的资金数额，也是用于维护现任共和党参议员乔恩·休斯特政绩的资金的两倍。
Even in races where the disparity has been lower—for instance, in the Ohio Senate race—America PAC has spent double the amount attacking former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown as defending the record of incumbent Jon Husted.
休斯特此次竞选之路可谓艰难重重：他因支持对伊朗发动战争而饱受非议，同时还有大量负面广告将他描绘成“数据中心的代言人”——这一切都源于该州计划建设的一座由英伟达开发、并将租给OpenAI使用的数据中心项目。
Husted has faced a particularly bruising campaign, dogged by his support for the Iran war and battered by negative ads portraying him as “the face of data centers” because of a planned Nvidia data center project in the state that will be leased by OpenAI.
总体而言，《连线》杂志对联邦选举委员会所收录文件的梳理显示：自唐纳德·特朗普总统开启第二任期以来，“美国政治行动委员会”已投入超过8300万美元用于支持共和党候选人及相关事业。
More generally, WIRED’s review of the filings submitted to the FEC shows that America PAC has spent more than $83 million boosting Republican candidates and causes since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term.
其中超过一半的资金是在2025年上半年支出的：近1300万美元用于威斯康星州最高法院选举——该州共和党最终落败；马斯克当时曾声称这场选举关乎“西方文明的未来”。另有2700万美元被用于激励民众签署请愿书：选举前，“美国政治行动委员会”在社交媒体上宣布，凡签署请愿书者可获得100美元奖励，每成功推荐一人也能再得100美元。
More than half of that figure came in the first six months of 2025, including nearly $13 million on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race that the GOP lost—Musk had claimed the future of “Western civilization” was on the line—and $27 million on petition incentives. Prior to the election, America PAC posted on social media that it would pay people $100 to sign the petition and $100 per referral for that race. (Voting officials in the state alleged probable cause to believe that Musk’s offers of $1 million payments had violated election bribery laws, but prosecutors ultimately declined to bring charges.)
（该州选举官员认为有充分理由怀疑马斯克承诺支付100万美元的行为违反了选举贿赂相关法律，不过检方最终并未提起诉讼。）在去年马斯克与特朗普公开决裂、直至今年夏天重新涉足政坛期间，“美国政治行动委员会”的资金支出一度趋于沉寂，但马斯克个人的捐款却从未停止：2025年6月至2026年5月期间，他个人又向其他共和党团体捐赠了4000万美元。
In between Musk’s public fallout with Trump last year and his return to politics this summer, the outflows from America PAC largely went quiet. Musk’s own checkbook did not. Between June 2025 and May 2026, he personally gave $40 million to other Republican groups.
自8月下旬起，“美国政治行动委员会”再度活跃起来：它向德克萨斯州参议院选举投入了1120万美元；向俄亥俄州与密歇根州的参议院选举各投入约500万美元；此外还在其他众议院及参议院选举中投入了1020万美元。
And since late August, America PAC has whirred back into gear, throwing $11.2 million into the Texas Senate race and about $5 million each into the Ohio and Michigan Senate races, as well as $10.2 million in other House and Senate contests.
目前尚不清楚今年“America PAC”在实地运作及其他动员选民的活动上投入了多少资金，不过后续的财务报告将会揭示这一信息。同样不清楚的是，这笔巨额资金的出资方是谁。截至6月底，该组织账面上有274,171美元；此后又支出了3,100万美元。至于这笔差额资金的来源，要等到10月15日发布的下一份报告才会公布。今年6月之前，该组织的资金几乎全部来自马斯克。该超级政治行动委员会的发言人拒绝置评。
It isn’t clear yet how much America PAC has put into field operations and other get-out-the-vote efforts this year, though future filings will shed light on this. Nor is it clear who is paying for the surge. The group reported $274,171 in the bank at the end of June and has spent $31 million since; the donors behind the difference will not be disclosed until its next report, October 15. Through June, virtually all of its money had come from Musk. A spokesperson for the super PAC declined to comment.