--- title: "Democrats flip House and Senate, and Elon Musk's money mostly backed losers" description: "Musk was the biggest individual donor of the 2026 midterms, and voters also restricted 39 of 40 data center ballot measures." url: https://tech.skoop.news/how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-39619e/ published: 2026-11-07T04:08:41.323070-05:00 modified: 2026-11-07T04:08:41.323070-05:00 section: "Tech & Apps" publisher: "skoop.news" language: en keywords: ["Musk", "Elon Musk", "Secretary of Defense", "Secretary of War", "Senate-elect James Talarico", "South Carolina Senate", "Tech & Apps", "Trump", "Democrats", "Texas"] hashtags: ["#ElonMusk", "#SecretaryOfDefense", "#SecretaryOfWar", "#Tech", "#ai"] image: https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Darline_Graham_swear-in.png/1280px-Darline_Graham_swear-in.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail --- # Democrats flip House and Senate, and Elon Musk's money mostly backed losers > Musk was the biggest individual donor of the 2026 midterms, and voters also restricted 39 of 40 data center ballot measures. Published 2026-11-07 · Tech & Apps, [skoop.news](https://skoop.news/) ## In brief - Democrats flipped both the House and the Senate in the 2026 midterms, and Elon Musk backed Republicans in 106 House and Senate races. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) - Trump handpicked and endorsed Darline Graham to win the South Carolina Senate race. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) - The MAGA base is pinning the midterm losses on Trump and the Iran war. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) ## A double flip that cleared the bar Democrats flipped both the House and the Senate in the 2026 midterms, and Elon Musk backed Republicans in 106 House and Senate races. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) Readers of Tech & Apps who follow Musk or the data center fight have a stake in both stories. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) Democrats needed a net gain of four Senate seats and three House seats, and they exceeded both targets. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) Battleground states that Trump won by double digits swung about 10 points back toward Democrats on election night. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) Democrats picked up seats in Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Iowa, Kansas, South Carolina and Michigan. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) ## Safe seats that were not safe Trump handpicked and endorsed Darline Graham to win the South Carolina Senate race. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) She ended up losing it. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) Cindy Hyde-Smith, a long-time senator once considered a very safe incumbent, was losing in Mississippi, and that race had not yet been called. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) In Arizona, Mark Lamb was considered a certainty to win, and his race still had not been resolved. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) In Texas, a Senate seat and the governorship both flipped blue with large margins. [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) ## Where the blame is landing The MAGA base is pinning the midterm losses on Trump and the Iran war. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) People in the administration are blaming Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense (Secretary of War), for encouraging Trump for months to continue the war. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) After the election, Trump blamed the quality of the candidates and the fact that he was not on the ballot. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) He also blamed Fox News, saying it platformed a lot of Democrats. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) Right-wing podcaster Matt Walsh called Trump an 80-year-old lame duck president. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) Walsh also called the election results a political catastrophe of historic proportions. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) ## Musk's money and his record Musk was the election's single largest individual donor by a vast margin, more than three times the second-place donors Dick and Liz Uihlein. [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) According to a CNBC report, he funneled around $225 million to Texas. [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) As of the article's writing, 18 of the Musk-backed candidates had won, primarily in extremely safe red areas. [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) Another 45 Musk-backed races were lost and 43 were yet to be called. [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) He suffered big losses in Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Kansas and Iowa, among other states. [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) Steve Rattner posted that 98% of the money Musk spent on specific candidates went to losers. [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) ## What Musk said before and after Musk warned that a Democratic win would signal the end of democracy in any meaningful sense of the word. [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) He also claimed that Senate-elect James Talarico in Texas would trans kids. [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) Afterward, Musk posted that his election-interfering space lasers did not work this time. [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) Roughly 22 months before the midterms, Musk was handing out Roman salutes and gutting government agencies. [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) Elon Musk is currently worth around $898 billion. [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) ## The data center referendum Voters restricted 39 of 40 data center ballot measures, which WIRED called the data center referendum. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) ## What this means for you If you follow tech politics, two items are worth checking. Voters restricted 39 of 40 data center ballot measures. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) Musk-backed races were still being counted, with 43 yet to be called as of the article's writing. [[2]](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) The Mississippi and Arizona races had also not been resolved. [[1]](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) ## Sources 1. [How Elon Musk and Big Tech Poured Millions Into the Midterms, and Lost](https://www.wired.com/story/uncanny-valley-podcast-how-elon-musk-and-big-tech-poured-millions-into-the-midterms-and-lost/) — Wired 2. [Elon Musk Spent Nearly $500 Million On The Midterms And Lost Big-Time](https://www.engadget.com/2306698/elon-musk-spent-nearly-500-million-on-the-midterms-and-lost-bigtime/) — Engadget Image: Photo: C-SPAN / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Darline_Graham_swear-in.png) --- Written from the sources above and checked twice (rules and an independent model) before publishing. How we work: https://skoop.news/how-we-work/ · Corrections: https://skoop.news/corrections/