US Midterms: Democrats Win House and Senate, Musk's Millions Largely Fail
After the US midterm elections, Democrats took both the House and the Senate, according to WIRED reporters. Elon Musk's America PAC, a political committee that spent hundreds of millions of dollars, mostly backed losing candidates.
Democrats won majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the US midterm elections held on Tuesday, according to WIRED's politics team on a special edition of its Uncanny Valley podcast. The party needed a net gain of four Senate seats and three House seats, and passed both thresholds. The outcome matters because it shifts the balance of power in Congress during President Donald Trump's term.
Unexpected results
The reporters said Democrats also won in places they had not expected. States mentioned included Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Iowa, Kansas, South Carolina and Michigan. In South Carolina, a candidate handpicked and endorsed by Trump lost, while the race for Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith's seat in Mississippi had not yet been called. WIRED senior correspondent Hugo Lowell said battleground states that Trump won by double digits in 2024 swung about 10 points back toward Democrats.
Republicans look for who to blame
Trump attributed the results to the quality of candidates and to the fact that he was not on the ballot, and he also criticized Fox News. Parts of the MAGA movement instead blamed the president and the war with Iran. Podcaster Matt Walsh called the results a political catastrophe. According to WIRED's sources, staff in the White House are also pointing at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose reports on the war were described as overly rosy, leading Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to seek their own intelligence briefings.
Musk's money
Elon Musk spent more than $400 million this cycle, mostly supporting Republicans. A WIRED analysis found that by Wednesday morning candidates backed by his America PAC had lost 20 races and won one. Of every traceable dollar put into races already decided, more than 99 cents went to a race he lost. WIRED reporter Vittoria Elliott argued that the Musk brand has become a liability for Republicans.
