Musk gave $158 million to the Senate GOP's super PAC in September, largely to rescue Paxton

The gift was more than half of the Senate Leadership Fund's $273 million third-quarter haul. It put Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton back on TV after his campaign went dark while James Talarico (St Rep-D Texas) dominated.

The money trail:

• Musk's initial deal was $10 million to the pro-Paxton Lone Star Liberty PAC (The Guardian, Axios).
• SLF earlier estimated that backing Paxton would cost $150-200 million (The Guardian).
• The Musk money also let Republicans shift funds into newly competitive races in Kansas and South Carolina (The Hill).