A super PAC tied to billionaire Elon Musk has started spending in two deeply Republican House seats in Florida ahead of next week’s special elections, according to a new campaign finance report.
America PAC, which has not filed a financial disclosure form yet this year but was almost entirely funded by Musk last year, is spending $20,000 on “texting services” to boost Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis in the 1st Congressional District and state Sen. Randy Fine in the 6th District, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday night, which was first reported by The New York Times.
America PAC’s spending in the special elections is minimal so far compared with the millions of dollars that have already been spent there. But it is a sign that Musk may be paying attention to the contests, as he continues to ramp up his political engagement while he serves as a key White House adviser. America PAC has also spent millions of dollars on next week’s state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin.
Tuesday’s special elections in Florida are taking place in deeply Republican territory. President Donald Trump carried the 1st District by 37 points in November and the 6th District by 30 points, according to election result calculations from the NBC News Decision Desk.
Yet House Republican leaders have been sounding the alarm about the 6th District race to replace former GOP Rep. Mike Waltz, who resigned in January to become Trump’s national security adviser. Fine recently filed a lackluster fundraising report, significantly trailing his Democratic opponent, Josh Weil, a public school teacher.
Patronis was also outraised by his Democratic opponent in the 1st District, gun control activist Gay Valimont, but not as dramatically. The winner of the 1st District race will replace GOP former Rep. Matt Gaetz.
Trump has endorsed both Patronis and Fine, and he has boosted both candidates in recent Truth Social posts.
