埃隆·马斯克有望成为本轮选举周期中最大的单一捐赠者。但他也出奇地难以寻觅。
Elon Musk is likely to end this election cycle as the biggest single donor. He’s also surprisingly hard to find.
上一次埃隆·马斯克介入选举是在去年的威斯康星州，当时他无处不在：他花费数百万美元，并在数千名观众面前戴着一块泡沫奶酪头套登台跳舞。他支持的候选人以10个百分点的差距落败。威斯康星州民主党人利用马斯克介入州最高法院竞选作为攻击素材，如今他们将选民对马斯克的恼火归功于提高了投票率，并在特别选举中可能起到了关键作用。
The last time Elon Musk got involved in an election, last year in Wisconsin, he was everywhere: He spent millions of dollars and danced onstage before a crowd of thousands wearing a block of foam cheese on his head. His chosen candidate lost by 10 percentage points. Wisconsin Democrats used Musk’s involvement in the state Supreme Court race as fodder for s, and now they credit voters’ irritation with Musk for boosting turnout and making a potentially pivotal difference in the special election.
今年，这位世界首富避免了竞选现场的表演，尽管他增加了资金投入。
This year, the richest man in the world has avoided campaign trail theatrics, even as he’s upped his financial stake.
马斯克并非独自“隐身”：与去年相比，大多数民主党人对妖魔化这位花钱对抗他们的万亿富翁兴趣不大。关键的例外是在得克萨斯州，马斯克作为企业主和巨额捐赠者的存在，使他与共和党下层选票竞选紧密相连。
Musk isn’t doing a disappearing act on his own: relative to last year, most Democrats have shown little interest in demonizing the trillionaire who is spending against them. The key exception is in Texas, where Musk’s presence as a business owner and megadonor have resulted in his being inextricably linked to Republican downballot races.
“特朗普和共和党候选人现在在经济、汽油价格上表现得如此糟糕，以至于你不需要一个次要的或外部的替罪羊来激起民愤，”民主党策略师埃迪·韦尔对《华盛顿太阳报》表示。“如果汽油每加仑便宜一美元，如果我们没有在伊朗陷入战争……我认为那时你会看到更多反马斯克的内容。”该报对AdImpact数据的分析显示，自9月1日以来，联邦层面竞选中提及马斯克名字的独特广告有37条，花费270万美元。
“Trump and the Republican candidates are doing so badly now on the economy, on gas, that you don’t need to have a secondary or an outside bogeyman to gin people up,” Eddie Vale, a Democratic strategist, told The Washington Sun. “If gas was a dollar cheaper a gallon, if we weren’t at war in Iran … I think then you would have seen more anti-Elon stuff.”The Sun’s analysis of AdImpact data showed that since Sept. 1, 37 unique ads mentioning Musk by name ran in federal-level races, costing $2.7 million.
同期，涉及腐败议题的广告有351条，花费1.76亿美元；讨论经济议题的189条广告花费5600万美元。
During the same period, 351 ads ran that addressed corruption, costing $176 million; $56 million was spent on 189 ads discussing the economy.
马斯克在本选举周期迄今已花费至少2.76亿美元支持共和党候选人——根据对联邦选举委员会数据的部分分析，这一数字超过4亿美元。其中大部分资金通过政治行动委员会注入，如参议院领导基金和美国政治行动委员会，后者由马斯克于2024年创立。马斯克未回应置评请求。
Musk has spent at least $276 million supporting Republican candidates so far this cycle — some analysis of Federal Election Commission data puts the number above $400 million. Most of that money has been funneled through political action committees, like the Senate Leadership Fund and America PAC, which Musk founded in 2024. Musk did not respond to request for comment.
联邦选举委员会备案文件显示，仅美国政治行动委员会就在关键摇摆州竞选中花费数百万美元用于邮寄宣传品、短信和电话呼叫，其中在参议院竞选上的支出最高：支持缅因州参议员苏珊·柯林斯花费150万美元，支持爱荷华州众议员阿什利·辛森花费230万美元，支持密歇根州前众议员迈克·罗杰斯花费近600万美元，支持俄亥俄州参议员乔恩·赫斯特德花费近760万美元。
FEC filings show that America PAC alone has spent millions on mailers, text messages and phone calls in key battleground races, with the highest spending aiding Senate races: $1.5 million to support Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, $2.3 million for Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa, close to $6 million for former Rep. Mike Rogers in Michigan and nearly $7.6 million for Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio.
在这些竞选的另一方，民主党候选人将重点放在物价负担能力和华盛顿腐败的信息传递上。他们没有花太多时间提及马斯克的名字，或许也无需如此。
On the other side of those races, the Democratic candidates have honed in on messages about affordability and corruption in Washington. They haven’t spent much time invoking Musk’s name, and they may not need to.
威斯康星州民主党前主席本·威克勒表示，威斯康星州的选举表明，“埃隆·马斯克很坏”本身并非制胜信息。该党本周期评价最高的广告将马斯克在州最高法院的一起正在进行的案件，与他有意安插一位保守派法官的意图联系了起来。
Ben Wikler, the former chair of the Wisconsin Democrats, said the Wisconsin election showed that “Elon Musk is bad” isn’t a winning message on its own. The party’s highest-rated of the cycle connected an ongoing case Musk had before the state Supreme Court to his interest in installing a conservative judge.
威克勒说：“当你把这些点连起来，指出如果他能为这些政客买下胜利，他们就会回报他一些会让选民付出代价的恩惠，那时选民才会真正醒悟。”
“When you connect the dots and point out that if he’s able to buy a victory for these politicians, then they’re going to do him favors that are going to cost [voters] money, that’s when it really clicks,” Wikler said.
在得克萨斯州，参议院候选人詹姆斯·塔拉里科是试图这样做的民主党人之一。马斯克于2020年搬至得克萨斯州，正积极在该州为SpaceX和数据中心寻求土地交易；塔拉里科抓住这些交易，指责马斯克试图“买下一名参议员”，使其对他心存感激。
In Texas, Senate candidate James Talarico is one Democrat attempting to do just that. Musk, who moved to Texas in 2020, is actively pursuing land deals in the state for SpaceX and data centers; Talarico has seized on those deals and has accused Musk of attempting to “buy a senator” who will be indebted to him.
在竞选途中，塔拉里科显著地将马斯克作为选民所担忧的那类腐败的例证。
On the campaign trail, Talarico prominently uses Musk as an example of the type of corruption voters are concerned about.
“如果你收到一条说我坏话的短信，那是埃隆发的，”塔拉里科本月初在一次竞选演讲中说。“埃隆·马斯克想要我们的土地。他想要我们的水。他想要我们的纳税人的钱。”《德克萨斯论坛报》报道，美国政治行动委员会已投入近3400万美元支持共和党参议员候选人肯·帕克斯顿。马斯克通过向参议院领导基金捐款，又向这场竞选额外注资1.9亿美元。
“If you’ve received a text message saying scary things about me, that was Elon,” Talarico said during a campaign speech earlier this month. “Elon Musk wants our land. He wants our water. He wants our taxpayer dollars.”America PAC has spent nearly $34 million in support of Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton. Musk has routed an additional $190 million into the race, The Texas Tribune reports, through donations to the Senate Leadership Fund.
马斯克还在社交媒体上攻击塔拉里科，上周发帖称“民主党人塔拉里科有严重问题”。
Musk has also attacked Talarico on social media, posting last week “there is something deeply wrong” with the Democrat.
“像马斯克这样的万亿富翁能买下属于他个人的美国参议员，这才是政治制度严重出了问题，”塔拉里科回应道。
“There is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal U.S. Senator,” Talarico responded.
德克萨斯民主党多数派政治行动委员会的凯瑟琳·费舍尔表示，她认为马斯克可能成为一个能像去年在威斯康星州那样激发德州选民热情的人物。她说，在演讲、广告和网络上，塔拉里科已找到方法将马斯克在该州的存在与选民最关心的三大议题——负担能力、数据中心和腐败——联系起来。
Katherine Fischer of the Democratic Texas Majority PAC said she believes that Musk may be a figure that can galvanize voters in Texas like he did in Wisconsin last year. In speeches, ads and online, Talarico has found ways to link Musk’s presence in the state to three of the leading issues voters care about: affordability, data centers and corruption, she said.
在选民因成本上涨感到沮丧之际，费舍尔认为，该州候选人强调马斯克在保守派竞选上花费了多少资金是“明智”的。
And at a time when voters are frustrated by rising costs, Fischer said she believes it is “wise” for candidates in the state to emphasize how much Musk is spending on the conservative ballot.
“德州人对自由和选择有一种特定的自豪感，”费舍尔说。“看着世界首富进来试图买下一个参议员席位……这对共和党不是个好故事，我理解为什么民主党人要抓住这个话题。”马斯克与数据中心的关联也让他成了其他竞选中的一个角色。在纽约竞争激烈的第17国会选区，民主党人凯特·康利指出马斯克资助她的竞争对手、共和党众议员迈克·劳勒，并提到劳勒过去曾发表过被视为支持数据中心发展的言论。
“There’s a certain pride in Texas around liberty and choice,” Fischer said. “Watching the richest man in the world come in and try to buy a Senate seat. … It’s not a good story for [Republicans], and I understand why the Dems are going after it.”Musk’s connection to data centers has made him a character in other races. In New York’s competitive 17th Congressional District, Democrat Cait Conley has pointed to Musk’s financial support for her competitor, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, and past Lawler statements that have been seen as favorable to data center development.
康利在CNN节目中露面时指责劳勒是马斯克的“提线木偶”。美国政治行动委员会已花费50万美元支持劳勒。一位接近康利竞选团队的消息人士告诉《太阳报》，康利之所以提到马斯克，是因为该选区选民已经从当地数据中心的开发中感受到了“切实影响”，他们看到了这一问题与“谁在为劳勒提供资金支持”之间的明确联系。劳勒竞选团队未回应置评请求。
Conley accused Lawler of being a “puppet” for Musk during an appearance on CNN. America PAC has spent $500,000 in support of Lawler. A source close to the Conley campaign told The Sun that Conley chose to bring up Musk because voters in the district have felt a “tangible impact” from data center development in the area, and they saw a clear tie between the issue and “who or what is bankrolling” Lawler. The Lawler campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
但在马斯克的影响力没有那么直观的州，民主党人提醒选民是共和党人而非马斯克出现在选票上，这可能是正确的。维克勒表示，马斯克这条“攻击路线”可能不如其他共和党表现不佳的领域那样有效。
But in states where Musk’s presence isn’t as overtly felt, Democrats may be right to remind voters that it is Republicans, not Musk, who are on the ballot. The Musk “line of attack” may not be as effective as other areas where Republicans are failing, Wikler said.
他说：“如果选民每小时或每天都在告诉你，食品杂货价格是他们最关心的问题，那就不要停止谈论食品杂货价格，转而去炒作埃隆·马斯克。”
“If voters are telling you every hour or every day that grocery prices are their top concern, then don’t stop talking about grocery prices in order to lean into Elon Musk,” he said.