Independent groups spent $3.1 billion on US congressional elections — Anadolu Agency
Independent political groups spent $3.1 billion on races for the US House of Representatives and Senate as of October 24, 2026. Of this amount, $2.3 billion was spent on the general election, Anadolu Agency reports, citing data from the US Federal Election Commission.
Spending on political advertising in federal, state, and local races exceeded $10 billion by mid-October. AdImpact forecasts that the total will reach a record $11.6 billion — more than the $8.9 billion spent during the 2022 midterm elections and the $11.2 billion spent in the 2024 presidential election cycle.
Major donors and independent spending
The largest amounts of independent spending at the end of October were reported by the Senate Leadership Fund — about $292 million, Democrat-linked WinSenate — $221 million, and Republican No Going Back PAC — $220 million. According to The Washington Post, the 50 largest sources of donations provided $2.77 billion as of October 23. Among individual donors, Elon Musk contributed the largest amount — $446 million.
In Texas, Democrat James Talarico raised $146.3 million, while Republican Ken Paxton raised $22.3 million. At the same time, outside groups spent $298.5 million supporting Paxton or attacking Talarico, while $79.9 million was directed in favor of Talarico's side.
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Daniel Lobo-Lewis, executive director of Washington's Political Integrity Project, said that candidates are increasingly making their opponents' funding sources a campaign issue. According to him, a candidate who criticizes an opponent over money must himself be “clean” on the matter.
Spending by AIPAC and other industries
AIPAC's traditional political action committee raised $57.8 million by October 14 and pooled about $44 million in individual donations for candidates by October 24. These funds belonged to individual donors, not AIPAC itself. Its affiliated super PAC, United Democracy Project, raised $112.8 million and reported $54 million in independent expenditures.
United Democracy Project's biggest intervention in 2026 took place in the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan: the group spent $20.7 million against Abdul El-Sayed and $10.6 million supporting House member Haley Stevens. TrackAIPAC co-founder Corey Archibald claims that AIPAC seeks to influence US foreign policy in the interests of a foreign government; this is her assessment of the lobby's activities.
According to PaidForPolitics calculations, cryptocurrency-linked groups raised $324.6 million by the end of October and spent about $162 million supporting or opposing candidates. Groups advocating for looser artificial intelligence regulation raised $125 million and spent about $36 million, while supporters of tighter oversight spent approximately $25.6 million.
