Tesla CEO and reacted. Photo courtesy: Reuters
Elon Musk, a tech mogul who is the richest person in the world, Invested more than $70 million to help Donald Trump and other Republicans win the November electionHe has become one of the GOP’s biggest donors this campaign season, according to campaign finance disclosures released this week.
Musk donated over the summer to America PAC, a super political action committee he launched in May to help Trump return to the White House. It soon became a central player in Trump’s electoral effort.
“America PAC is just taking aim at common sense, centrist values,” the SpaceX and Tesla founder said on his social media platform X on Tuesday.
Super PACs like Musk’s America PAC can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, but they are generally prohibited from coordinating their efforts with the candidates they support. A recent opinion by the Federal Election Commission, which regulates federal political campaigns, has allowed candidates and these big-spending groups to work together on so-called ground game efforts, knocking on doors for help. There is an army of deployed people. Vote.
While candidates and political parties have traditionally organized and paid for such efforts, Trump’s campaign has struggled to raise money this year and has turned to a handful of outside groups to do the work, including Musk. That America PAC is on top.
But in doing so, the campaign has outsourced a core function to a group of unvetted groups who work independently. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ decision to hire an outside group to campaign for himself was said to be one of the reasons his presidential bid failed.
To date, America PAC has spent more than $38 million on voter “canvassing” efforts, according to campaign finance disclosures.
Most of America PAC’s money has been paid to a handful of consulting firms, a number of which are tied to Phil Cox, a former presidential campaign aide to DeSantis and onetime executive director of the Republican Governors Association. Records show that Cox’s businesses under various companies have raised at least $21 million since August.
Outsourcing Trump’s get-out-the-vote efforts isn’t the only unconventional strategy his campaign has adopted this year. His campaign and allies have also abandoned traditional approaches to getting out the vote, which typically focused on bringing independent or liberal voters to their side. Instead, they are trying to increase turnout among Trump supporters who rarely vote, a uniquely risky approach.
Although Musk is America PAC’s top donor, he is not alone. The super PAC also raised about $8.75 million from a handful of wealthy donors, including the Winklevoss twins, Tyler and Cameron, the controversial creators of Facebook.
The super PAC has spent nearly $80 million this year. Although most of the spending has been on the presidential race, at least $5 million has been spent to help Republican House candidates.
published – October 17, 2024 09:35 AM IST