JILL COLVIN 纽约 — 埃隆·马斯克，世界上唯一的万亿富翁，悄然成为今年中期选举中已知最大的捐助者，自7月以来已捐出超过2.76亿美元，试图挽救共和党在国会中的多数席位。
JILL COLVIN NEW YORK — Elon Musk, the world’s only trillionaire, has quietly become the biggest known donor in this year’s midterm elections, doling out more than $276 million since July to try to save Republican majorities in Congress.
这些数字首次由《纽约时报》在本周联邦申报截止日期前报道，并得到马斯克超级政治行动委员会发言人安德鲁·罗密欧的确认。
The numbers, first reported by the New York Times ahead of this week’s federal filing deadline, were confirmed by Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for Musk’s super PAC.
这些资金包括1.58亿美元捐给参议院领导基金，这是支持共和党参议院候选人的主要超级政治行动委员会，也是美国历史上已知的最大政治捐款之一。
The money includes $158 million given to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC supporting Republican Senate candidates, one of the largest known political donations in American history.
另外7600万美元流向了美国政治行动委员会，这是马斯克的超级政治行动委员会，该委员会再次构建了类似2024年帮助选举唐纳德·特朗普总统的大规模投票动员行动。
Another $76 million went to America PAC, a Musk super PAC, which has once again built out a major turnout operation like the one it used to help elect President Donald Trump in 2024.
马斯克还向得州自由之星政治行动委员会提供了1000万美元，该组织支持得州共和党参议院候选人肯·帕克斯顿。
Musk also provided $10 million to Lone Star Liberty PAC, a group that supports the Republican nominee for Senate in Texas, Ken Paxton.
自去年5月以来，情况发生了戏剧性转变，当时马斯克表示他打算削减未来的政治支出。“我认为我已经做得足够了，”他当时说道。
It’s a dramatic turnaround since last May, when Musk said he intended to cut back on future political spending . “I think I’ve done enough,” he said at the time.
尽管有这笔资金注入，马斯克总体上保持了比2024年更低的公开形象，当时他曾在集会上与特朗普同台，以及特朗普第二个任期早期，当时他领导政府效率部。
Despite the cash infusion, Musk has generally kept a lower profile than in 2024, when he appeared on stage next to Trump at rallies, and in the early days of the president’s second term, when he led the Department of Government Efficiency.
他在离开政府职务时与特朗普发生了分歧，但此后两人已经和解。特朗普上周将国家科学奖颁发给了马斯克。
He had a falling out with Trump while leaving his government post, but the two have since reconciled. Trump presented Musk with the National Medal of Science last week.
马斯克的净资产今年因股价波动而在万亿美元线附近波动，但根据《福布斯》杂志的数据，他上周再次突破1万亿美元。
Musk’s net worth has fluctuated around the trillion-dollar line this year based on changes in stock prices, but he topped $1 trillion again last week according to Forbes magazine.
共和党在财政上对民主党拥有巨大优势 — — 这种差距对一个正面临因选民对总统表现的深度不满、顽固高通胀以及对伊朗战争的不满而可能遭受重大损失的党来说，是一个罕见的亮点。
Republican have a gaping financial advantage over their Democratic counterparts — a disparity that has been a rare bright spot for a party that is bracing for major potential losses amid deep voter frustration over the president’s performance, stubbornly high prices and the unpopular war with Iran.