The ۲۰۲۶ US midterms are on track to be the most expensive in the country’s history. Spending on political advertising alone is projected to reach $۱۱.۶bn, more than in any previous election cycle, including the ۲۰۲۴ presidential race, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.
Much of that money comes from wealthy donors, political nonprofits and businesses seeking to shape Washington’s priorities, and some of it passes through networks of organisations before it is spent.
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In this visual explainer, Al Jazeera uses Federal Election Commission data to trace the billionaires, financiers and companies behind the largest contributions ahead of the November ۳ vote.
The ۵۰ largest donors contributed $۲.۷۷bn
The ۵۰ largest donors and organisations have so far contributed a combined $۲.۷۷bn during the ۲۰۲۶ midterm election cycle.
Republican-aligned contributors accounted for $۱.۶۷bn, or about ۶۰ percent of donations, double the $۸۳۲m (۳۰ percent) from Democratic-aligned contributors.
The remaining $۲۶۴m, about ۱۰ percent, came from contributors classified as bipartisan or special interest, including groups backing sports betting and cryptocurrency.
Individuals can donate up to $۳,۵۰۰ per election to a US federal candidate’s campaign in the ۲۰۲۵–۲۶ election cycle. Yet some of the people on this list have given hundreds of millions of dollars.
That is legal because most of the money went not to candidates but to super political action committees, or super PACs, which can accept donations of any size.
What is a super PAC?
A super PAC is a group that can raise and spend unlimited sums to support or oppose candidates, mainly through advertising. The main condition is that it must not coordinate its spending with candidates or their campaigns.
They emerged in ۲۰۱۰ after two court rulings paved the way for unlimited spending on elections by groups independent of candidates.
Super PACs must report their donors to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the US agency that oversees federal elections. But some major contributors, including One Nation and Majority Forward, are nonprofit groups that do not have to disclose their own donors.
This can hide where political money originally comes from, a practice known as “dark money”.
But Lawrence Lessig, a professor of law and leadership at Harvard Law School and a campaign finance reform advocate, argues that the money is hidden only from voters.
“It’s not dark to the politicians. It’s dark to us,” he told Josh Rushing on Al Jazeera’s Let’s Focus, in a debate on money in US elections with Bradley Smith, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission. “Nobody’s confused from the politician’s side about where this money is coming from, and they know what they need to do.”
Who are the biggest individual donors?
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and head of Tesla and SpaceX, is the largest individual contributor of the cycle, with $۴۴۶m, according to Federal Election Commission data.
He is followed by Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein, founders of the shipping supplies company Uline, and Jeff and Janine Yass. Jeff Yass cofounded the trading firm Susquehanna International Group.
All three have given to Republican-aligned groups.
Republican-aligned top donors:
- Elon Musk: $۴۴۶ million
- Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein: $۱۵۰ million
- Jeff and Janine Yass: $۱۱۰ million
The largest Democratic-aligned donors are George Soros, the billionaire investor and founder of the Open Society Foundations; Mike Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and founder of the financial data company Bloomberg; and LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman and his wife, Michelle Yee.
Democratic-aligned top donors:
- George Soros: $۱۰۲ million
- Mike Bloomberg: $۸۴ million
- Reid Hoffman and Michelle Yee: $۴۱ million
Four individual donors have each given more than $۱۰۰m. For Lessig, that concentration, not the overall cost of elections, is the real concern.
“The problem isn’t the spending. The problem is the concentration of donors,” he said. “If you don’t have $۱۰۰ million to put on the table, you’re not going to matter in the way that we think that people ought to matter in a democracy.”
Which organisations contributed the most?
Political nonprofits led the organisational rankings, alongside cryptocurrency firms and an industrial conglomerate.
On the Republican side, the largest was One Nation, a nonprofit aligned with Senate Republican leadership, followed by American Action Network, which is linked to House Republican leadership. On the Democratic side, Majority Forward and House Majority Forward, nonprofits allied with the party’s Senate and House leadership, led the way.
Republican-aligned organisations:
- One Nation: $۱۳۳ million
- American Action Network: $۶۴.۳ million
- American Prosperity Alliance: $۵۰.۷ million
Democratic-aligned organisations:
- Majority Forward: $۱۰۲ million
- House Majority Forward: $۹۳.۷ million
- Economic Opportunity Fund: $۴۱.۵ million
Cryptocurrency companies also featured prominently. Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange, gave $۵۷.۸m, followed by Ripple, the blockchain payments company, with $۴۹.۶m, and Foris DAX, the company behind Crypto.com, with $۳۹m.
The industrial conglomerate Koch gave $۴۶.۸m, while the sports betting company DraftKings contributed $۴۰.۴m.
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