Democrats Take Congress Despite Musk’s Midterm Spending

Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the November 3 midterm elections, defeating Republican candidates backed by Elon Musk despite his spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the races. Musk responded on X with a joke about election-interfering space lasers, while the results gave Democrats control of the House and Senate. Musk wrote, “Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time,” adding a shrug emoji. His post followed network projections of Democratic control of both chambers. The results do not establish that Musk’s spending caused particular candidates to win or lose. Federal Election Commission filings cited in reports put Musk’s political spending at about $446 million through October 14 and at least $445.7 million through October 29. Those totals cover different reporting periods. Another account, which included IRS and state records, put his spending at $474 million. The figures reflect different sources and coverage, rather than a single identical reporting cutoff. The most prominent race involving Musk’s spending was in Texas, where Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton for a Senate seat. Unofficial returns...