The tech mogul’s midterm donations backing Republicans have made him the largest single-cycle political donor in modern US history

Elon Musk has poured so much money into US politics this midterms election cycle that his donations could fund half a dozen SpaceX rocket launches or buy thousands of Tesla Cybertrucks. At the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles, Musk could order more than 31.9m cheeseburgers with the money he has spent on the midterms.

Musk, the world’s richest person, has funnelled at least $445.77m into Republican-aligned political action committees (Pacs) and groups since last year, according to US Federal Election Commission data as of 29 October. The contributions have made him the Republicans’ most prominent financial backer and the largest single-cycle political donor in modern US history.

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The Democratic candidate for Senate has led in polls. But because it’s Texas, he remains the underdog.

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The use of A.I. chatbots to write candidate biographies and policy positions is another way the technology is entangled with elections.

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It was a showdown of sorts in western Texas as James Talarico and Ken Paxton appeared at dueling rallies on either side of a prairie-dog-filled city park.

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The Texas attorney general has been silent about his relationship with Tracy Duhon, a New Orleans woman who has built a personal brand around faith and redemption.

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Trump was in Corpus Christi and Lubbock to boost Republican Ken Paxton's competitive U.S. Senate campaign against Democrat James Talarico.

Mr. Paxton, the Republican candidate for Senate in Texas, has taken about 350 trips outside of the state since he was sworn in as attorney general.

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Democrats are targeting G.O.P. strongholds that could set them up for new majorities. But if they don’t win those races now, it could be a long time before they have another chance.

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On the trail, James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee, has increasingly gone after Mr. Musk, a critic of his who has given big to a group aligned with the Republican candidate, Ken Paxton.

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Hope, dread and the final stretch to Election Day.

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