数千万美元正涌入德克萨斯州，民主党正试图在这一共和党大本营赢得美国参议院席位，这一举措大胆而激进。
Tens of millions of dollars are pouring into Texas as Democrats stage an audacious bid to win a US Senate seat in the Republican stronghold.
随着11月期中选举临近，世界首富埃隆·马斯克也卷入了这场备受关注的竞选。
Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, is among those wading into the closely watched race as November’s midterm elections approach.
仅9月，马斯克就向参议院领导基金捐赠了1.58亿美元，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（Pac），Axios率先报道了这一消息。这笔捐款占该基金第三季度筹款总额的一半以上。
In September alone, Musk gave $158m to the Senate Leadership Fund, the primary super political action committee (Pac) backing Republican Senate candidates, Axios first reported. The donation accounted for more than half of the Senate Leadership Fund’s fundraising in the third quarter.
另据报道，在参议院领导基金主席亚历克斯·拉塔姆请求资助后，马斯克还向孤星自由政治行动委员会捐赠了1000万美元。该委员会专门支持德克萨斯州共和党候选人肯·帕克斯顿。
Separately, Musk donated $10m to Lone Star Liberty Pac, the committee dedicated to supporting Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate in Texas, after Alex Latcham, the president of the Senate Leadership Fund, requested the funding.
一位知情人士向《卫报》证实了Axios的报道。《卫报》还已就此向马斯克创立的政治运作机构“美国政治行动委员会”代表征求评论。
A source familiar with the matter confirmed Axios’s reporting to the Guardian. The Guardian has also asked representatives for America Pac, the political operation founded by Musk, for comment.
这些捐款发生在共和党人努力跟上帕克斯顿的民主党对手詹姆斯·塔拉里科支出之际。今年夏天，塔拉里科发布了一则广告，将帕克斯顿描绘为一名有腐败历史的政客。
The donations came as Republicans were struggling to keep up with spending by Paxton’s Democratic opponent, James Talarico. Over the summer, Talarico released an ad painting Paxton negatively as a politician with a history of corruption.
塔拉里科是一位年轻的进步派候选人，以信仰为基础的信息传递而闻名，今年早些时候他在参议院提名竞选中击败了一位资深民主党人，在德克萨斯州的自由派选民中取得了进展。Politico报道称，仅今年夏天，塔拉里科就筹集了6400万美元，这是参议院候选人第三季度筹款额历史上最高的一笔。
Talarico, a young, progressive candidate known for his faith-based messaging, made strides with liberal voters in Texas when he defeated an established Democrat for the Senate nomination earlier this year. Talarico raised $64m – the largest third-quarter fundraising of a Senate candidate in history, just this summer, Politico reported.
一位在德克萨斯州工作的匿名民主党策略人士对Politico表示：“他基本上是孤军奋战，而埃隆·马斯克和整个共和党筹款机构的支出是他的两倍。这仍然是一场艰苦的战斗。”
“He’s fighting this battle basically alone while Elon Musk and the full weight of the GOP fundraising apparatus outspends him 2:1. This is still an uphill battle,” an unnamed Democratic strategist working in Texas told Politico.
民调显示，两位候选人基本持平，尽管有些民调显示塔拉里科略微领先于帕克斯顿。
Polls have shown the two candidates are essentially tied, though some have Talarico polling narrowly ahead of Paxton.
德克萨斯州的参议院选举是全国竞争最激烈的选举之一，由于该州的竞选活动成本极高，预计这场选举将耗费数百万美元。
The Texas Senate race is one of the most competitive races in the country and was expected to cost millions of dollars because it’s an expensive state to run a campaign.
几个月前，参议院领导基金（Senate Leadership Fund）就警告称，支持帕克斯顿（Paxton）的竞选活动可能需要花费1.5亿至2亿美元。然而，唐纳德·特朗普亲自选择了帕克斯顿作为对手来对抗塔拉里科（Talarico）。
The Senate Leadership Fund warned, months earlier, that supporting Paxton would cost anywhere from $150m to $200m. But Donald Trump chose Paxton himself to run against Talarico.
据Axios报道，当马斯克（Musk）的团队与参议院领导基金分析民意调查结果后发现帕克斯顿的胜算正在下降时，马斯克便决定亲自介入这场选举。
When Musk’s team and the Senate Leadership Fund analyzed polling, they found Paxton’s chances of winning dwindling, leading Musk to step in, Axios reported.
《纽约时报》本周早些时候报道称，在2025-2026年的选举周期中，马斯克向各联邦选举委员会捐赠了约3.66亿美元——这一数额远高于他在2024年选举周期中的捐赠额（当时他仅为帮助特朗普捐赠了约2.9亿美元）。
In the 2025-2026 election cycle, Musk has donated approximately $366m to federal committees, the New York Times reported earlier this week. That is significantly more than he did during the 2024 election cycle, when he gave about $290m to help Trump.
这种支出增加与马斯克在2025年5月时的言论相矛盾：他当时表示：“我认为，在政治支出方面，我未来的投入会大幅减少。”美国政治行动委员会（America Pac）的发言人安德鲁·罗密欧（Andrew Romeo）对《纽约时报》说：“这些巨额捐赠使得共和党的竞选活动得以有效开展，从而使共和党人有机会打破以往的选举格局。”
The increase in spending contradicts a statement Musk made in May 2025 when he predicted: “I think, in terms of political spending, I’m going to do a lot less in the future.”Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for America Pac, told the New York Times: “These robust investments have allowed the GOP apparatus to get its message out so Republicans can have a fighting chance to defy history.
罗密欧进一步指出：“如果民主党人在今年11月掌控华盛顿，并赢得关键的州长及司法部长选举，那么美国就有可能会变成一个社会主义色彩浓厚、极端意识形态盛行且缺乏边境管控的国家。”
“If Democrats take control of Washington and win key gubernatorial and attorney general races this November, then America risks becoming a socialist, woke and borderless country,” Romeo added.