Billionaire Elon Musk’s America PAC has begun spending in House districts around the country to aid Republicans and slam Democrats – and one of the districts he’s targeting is New Jersey’s own 7th congressional district.
According to paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission, America PAC is spending $124,059 on “canvassing and field operations” to boost Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) and attack his Democratic opponent, Sue Altman, who is running a well-funded campaign to unseat Kean in the competitive 7th district.
The PAC’s spending, which totals more than $2.1 million across 14 congressional districts, was first reported earlier today by Business Insider.
Altman said that the involvement of Musk – who owns Tesla and the social media site X, and who has become a top Donald Trump backer in this year’s presidential race – shows the need for taking money out of politics.
“I’m happy to be targeted by the world’s richest man and his Trump-supporting super PAC, but it isn’t surprising Tom Kean, Jr. is turning to billionaires like Elon Musk to prop up his failing campaign,” Altman said. “Mega corporations and the wealthy elite continue to try to buy our elections and put their fingers on the scale of democracy. Regardless of your political party, big money in politics is bad for our democracy and our country. I’m running to put people over profits and put power back in the hands of voters.”
Kean’s campaign, in turn, hit Altman for accepting donations from Jonathan Soros, the son of billionaire George Soros, and his wife. The money from the Soros couple, however, was subject to federal donation limits and totaled only $6,600 – a very different situation than the six-figure buy from America PAC.
Musk’s PAC is the first major outside group to wade into the 7th district since general election season began. The four main House committees associated with the Democratic and Republican Parties – the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the House Majority PAC, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and the Congressional Leadership Fund – have not yet spent anything this fall, though the CLF did put down $85,000 earlier this year in support of Kean.