Elon Musk’s America PAC has begun spending in Maine’s U.S. Senate race, dropping $170,000 to help Republican incumbent Susan Collins amid a promise to pour tens of millions of dollars into battleground November elections.
The spending, disclosed in a Federal Election Commission filing this week, marks the first concrete sign of money flowing from Musk, the world’s richest man, into Maine since The New York Times reported in July that he plans to spend up to $120 million backing Republicans in key races.
Musk’s alliance with President Donald Trump has made him into a political force. He spent $260 million to help the president in 2024. In the Maine Senate race, his entry could add to a lopsided financial landscape that has already seen Republicans reserve $128 million in ads compared with just $81 million from Democrats.
That’s a major advantage for Collins. Her challenger, former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, only assumed the nomination in July after former Democratic nominee Graham Platner dropped out following a rape allegation. Jackson has led in polls but had roughly 100 days to spin up a massive campaign.
America PAC’s entry adds to an already lopsided financial landscape. Republican-aligned groups have spent $128.2 million on ad reservations since the start of 2025, compared with $81.2 million from Democratic-aligned groups, according to AdImpact data.
All of the Maine spending disclosed by the group on Wednesday was printing costs billed through a single vendor, Pennsylvania-based Red Maverick Media LLC. That firm was cofounded by longtime Maine Republican operative Michael Leavitt.
That makes Maine the second-biggest target for America PAC this cycle, trailing only Texas, where the group has spent $248,000 in a race between Attorney General Ken Paxton, a scandal-plagued Republican nominee facing Democrat James Talarico.
This is just the beginning for Musk. Federal records show the Tesla founder has personally contributed more than $50 million to America PAC since the start of last year, mostly in large lump-sum checks and in-kind contributions tied to petition drives and voter data work.
Collins, campaigning Thursday at a technical education center in Brunswick, said she hadn’t heard about the Maine spending and had both agreed and disagreed with elements of Musk’s work leading Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” — or DOGE.
“I knew he was going to get involved in political campaigns, but I had not heard that there was a specific donation,” Collins said.
Jackson, a labor Democrat who often mentions Musk in stump speeches, said “Mainers are tired of out-of-state billionaires like you trying to buy our elections and slash their own taxes at the expense of funding our healthcare and hospitals” in a Facebook post last month.
“While you and Susan fight for the interests of the ultra wealthy, I’m fighting for Maine,” he said.