New campaign finance disclosures filed late Thursday and early Friday shed fresh light on how big money, big donors and big expectations shaped the final stretch of the 2024 presidential race.
The 2024 cycle was set to be the most expensive election on record, and the candidate that raises the most money usually wins the election.
That didn’t happen in the 2024 presidential race, even as President Biden and Vice President Harris’s campaign raised more money than any other presidential ticket in history.
That’s at least in part because President-elect Trump outsourced his canvassing operation to super PACs funded by wealthy allies, including several billionaires who have been selected to serve in his incoming administration.
Musk spent a quarter of a billion dollars boosting Trump since July
Tesla CEO Elon Musk spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help elect the incoming president since he endorsed Trump in July following an assassination attempt.
New filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) show Musk gave a total of $238.5 million to his pro-Trump super PAC, America PAC, which led the charge to turn out voters in battleground states.
Recent filings also revealed a combined $23.5 million he contributed to two other super PACs supporting Trump.
Super PACs, unlike campaigns, can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money. While they are legally not allowed to coordinate with campaigns, the FEC this spring relaxed coordination rules on canvassing specifically in response to a request brought by a Democratic committee.
Trump took a gamble on outsourcing his ground game to super PACs including America PAC. It not only appears to have paid off for him, but also for Musk, who will co-lead his Department of Government Efficiency effort to cut federal spending and reduce the size of the federal government.
The Elon Musk........