WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s political operation has unleashed more than $277 million in television and direct-mail advertising over the final six weeks of the midterm campaign, part of a spending push Trump says will reach $400 million to $500 million by Election Day, according to Federal Election Commission data reported by Reuters.
Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., has spent more than $300 million on the midterms so far. The newest filings show it channeled $225 million of the recent spending through two other super PACs, No Going Back and Safety & Affordability. Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited amounts to support candidates, so long as they do not coordinate directly with campaigns.
“I have spent, or will be spending, over 400 Million Dollars by Election Day. More than 300 Million Dollars has already been spent on Advertising, Direct and Indirect Voter Contact, Rallies, Rally Arenas, Telerallies, Get Out the Vote Programs, Election Integrity, and more,” Trump said in a social media post on Tuesday. MAGA Inc. reported nearly $416 million in cash on hand at the end of August.
The money is concentrated in the Senate races that will decide control of the chamber, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority and Democrats need to gain at least four seats. The PACs have spent more than $36 million on the Texas Senate race for Ken Paxton, $30.1 million to help Mike Rogers in Michigan, and more than $28 million supporting Jon Husted in Ohio, according to the filings cited by Reuters.
Democrats are not without their own large donor. Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is spending about $80 million to help Democrats in September and October, his team told the New York Times, including at least $50 million for House races, $24 million for Everytown for Gun Safety, and $16 million for House Majority PAC. Reuters said it has not independently verified the Bloomberg spending.
The spending race reflects the stakes of the November 3 elections. Democrats seek to win control of Congress from Trump’s Republicans, and individual Democratic Senate campaigns have raised more from donors than their Republican counterparts — an advantage the outside super PAC spending is designed to offset. Forecasters cited by Reuters currently rate Democrats as favorites to take the House and give them improved chances in the Senate, as high fuel prices and other issues have weighed on the president’s approval ratings.
Why it matters: a sitting president directing hundreds of millions of dollars through outside groups is an unusual feature of modern midterm politics, and it means voters in a handful of states will see an advertising blitz in the final days that dwarfs the campaigns’ own spending. Campaign-finance reports filed this week cover activity through the end of September, so the public record still lags the newest announcements and does not yet provide a complete match for either side’s headline totals.
What happens next: both parties will keep spending through Election Day, with the final filings — and the results in Texas, Michigan, Ohio and other close Senate races — showing whether the money moved the outcome. Read the full Reuters report here.
