Hundreds of millions of dollars spent, with little to show for it.
asserted
millions → spend → it
The rout of President Donald Trump and his Republicans in the US midterm elections was also a defeat for Elon Musk and for the massive campaign spending meant to sway voters.
asserted
rout → mean → voters
Democrats captured both the Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday in a stunning rejection of Trump’s political agenda, winning races in which conservative groups had poured in far more outside money than their liberal counterparts.
“This might have been the biggest defeat for big money in American political history,” Logan Phillips, founder of the election forecasting site Race to the White House, wrote on X.
“Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time,” Musk said on X, with a shrug emoji.
uncertain
Musk → capture → emoji
Musk contributed nearly half a billion dollars to Republican efforts, making him the largest individual contributor in a federal election cycle since 2010, according to campaign finance tracker OpenSecrets.
uncertain
him → contribute → OpenSecrets
That year, the Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot limit political spending by corporations, unions and other groups acting independently of candidates, opening the way for big donors to pour vast sums into elections, sometimes anonymously.
asserted
donors → rule → elections
More than $200 million of Musk’s money went to support Ken Paxton, the Republican Senate candidate in Texas.
asserted
million → go → Texas
Democrat James Talarico defeated Paxton, a close Trump ally, to become the first Democrat to win statewide office in Texas since 1994.
asserted
Talarico → defeat → 1994
“In this race, we went up against our own Goliaths.
asserted
we → go → Goliaths
The richest man in the world, the most powerful man in the world and the entire Washington, DC establishment,” Talarico said.
asserted
Talarico → say → world
He also targeted billionaires “who own the social media algorithms, who own the cable news networks, who own the politicians fighting on our screens” and who “want us at each other’s throats”.
asserted
who → target → throats
In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown unseated Republican Senator Jon Husted in the country’s second most expensive race, with more than $500m spent.
asserted
Brown → unseat → m
In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated billionaire health care executive Rick Jackson in the governor’s race, after he poured more than $200m of his fortune into his bid, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
uncertain
he → defeat → Constitution
In Ohio, biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy lost the governor’s race to Democrat Amy Acton after putting an estimated $36m of his own money into it.
asserted
Ramaswamy → lose → it
AI industry money also fell short.
asserted
money → fall → ?
In South Carolina, American Mission, the Republican arm of the Leading the Future network backed by OpenAI president Greg Brockman and venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, put about $2.7m behind Senator Darline Graham, who lost to Democrat Annie Andrews in a state Trump won by 18 points.
asserted
Trump → lead → points
Building the Future, a new data centre industry super PAC tied to Leading the Future, had made Graham its first candidate to back.
asserted
Graham → tie → Future
‘Cannot yield’
Democrats also had billionaire backing.
asserted
Democrats → yield → backing
Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg spent $80m on House, Senate and governor races, then added $36m in the final days, Politico reported.
asserted
Politico → spend → days
Bloomberg’s political adviser Howard Wolfson told CNN that “money is not determinative, but it is helpful”, noting that Republicans held a significant financial advantage.
asserted
Republicans → tell → advantage
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who put $11.5m into the super PAC backing Talarico, said “we should get money out of politics”.
“And while people like Elon are spending outrageous amounts to keep authoritarian clowns in power, those of us who believe in the ideals of America cannot yield,” Hoffman wrote on X late on Tuesday, defending his largesse.
asserted
Hoffman → put → largesse
In California, a ballot proposal for a one-time five per cent tax on the state’s billionaires seemed to have failed after some of its wealthiest residents spent hundreds of millions of dollars to defeat it.
asserted
some → seem → it
The Aporia
