Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.In today’s edition, we dive into Elon Musk’s first foray into this year’s midterms.Plus, Kristen Welker digs into how voters are feeling about the Iran war six months in.Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.Elon Musk enters the midterm chatBy Andrew Arenge and Ben KamisarElon Musk is back.The tech billionaire’s super PAC launched digital ads this month in three states with key Senate races: Maine, Michigan and New Hampshire.
The effort from America PAC targets specific lists of people and urges viewers to register to vote, according to a review of Meta political ad data.Some ads are generic, featuring reminders that the Senate races in their states could decide control of the chamber.
Others go on the attack against socialism, including one ad that features an image of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, warning that “if you don’t vote in November, socialism could declare victory over America.”The campaign marks America PAC’s first significant ad spending since the April 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election.Musk injected himself into the center of that race, spending millions of dollars and traveling to the state.
But his endorsed candidate, conservative Brad Schimel, ultimately fell well short of Susan Crawford, allowing liberals to maintain their majority on the swing state court.Musk spent a quarter-billion dollars to boost Trump and the GOP in the 2024 election.
He then went on to serve as an adviser to Trump at the outset of his second term, before having an on-again, off-again relationship with the president after leaving the White House.It remains to be seen exactly how much Musk will spend this time around.But as the Republicans prepare to face a daunting political environment this fall, any financial involvement from Mu...