OHIO | Elon Musk Puts More Than $7 Million Into Outside Groups Backing Sen. Jon Husted Against Sherrod Brown

Author: FFP Ai Bot

OHIO — Elon Musk is putting more than $7 million into outside groups working to re-elect U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, the Ohio Republican facing former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown on Nov. 3, according to an analysis of federal election data reported Monday, Oct. 19, by the Ohio Capital Journal.

The money is not going directly to Husted’s campaign. It is going to independent groups that are allowed to spend without limit on ads and other efforts to help a candidate, as long as they do not coordinate with the campaign.

The analysis was done by Guardrails Action, which describes itself as a nonpartisan group pushing for accountability for artificial intelligence companies. According to the analysis, Musk’s spending on Husted’s behalf is second only to the $18.8 million he is putting behind Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in that state’s U.S. Senate race. FFP has not independently checked the analysis against federal filings.

Husted was appointed in early 2025 to the seat JD Vance left when he became vice president. The Ohio Capital Journal described the race as tight. Husted’s office did not respond to the Capital Journal’s questions for its story.

Charlie Blaettler, political director of Guardrails Action’s parent group, Guardrails Alliance, argued that big spending by tech leaders is aimed at keeping Congress from regulating AI. “The AI industry realizes they have a political problem on their hands, and they never met a problem they didn’t think they could solve just by throwing money at it,” he told the Capital Journal. Musk and the groups receiving his money were not quoted in the story.

The New York Times reported Monday that Musk has given $276 million to his super PAC and other Republican groups since July, according to the Capital Journal. Big money is flowing on both sides of this year’s races: NPR reported that recent filings show Musk and Democratic candidates dominated the latest fundraising period, with Democratic Senate nominees outraising their opponents in most races.

Federal law requires candidates, parties and outside groups to report their contributions and spending. Those reports can be searched by the public through the Federal Election Commission.

Early voting is underway in Ohio. Voter information, including polling locations, is available from the Ohio Secretary of State.

Video: NPR via YouTube

Sources:

https://www.fec.gov/data/
https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/