$1.4 billion in dark money

Who was the top donor to the 2026 midterms? The truthful answer is we do not know. A Popular Information analysis of Federal Election Commission (FEC) data reveals that $1.4 billion in the midterms has come from non-profit organizations that do not disclose their donors. This includes both donations from these non-profits to super PACs and money spent directly by the non-profits on electioneering.

Dark money spending in 2026 dwarfs previous cycles. Spending from organizations with secret donors is more than six times higher this cycle compared to 2018.

(To facilitate the comparison, this analysis covers spending through the pre-general report each cycle, which is filed about two weeks before election day. Other comparisons in this report take the same approach.)

This figure is an underestimate as it does not include TV and radio ads that do not expressly advocate voting for or against a candidate aired more than 60 days before the general election. (These are the ads that say: Call Congressman Smith and tell him to stop raising your taxes.) Digital ads and postal mail without express advocacy is excluded entirely.

Among donations from known donors, an increasing amount comes from a handful of donors. The top ten known donors this cycle donated over $1 billion dollars. The top donor this cycle, Elon Musk, has spent more money this cycle ($436 million) than the top ten donors combined in the 2018 cycle ($352 million).

Large donations have fueled an increasing amount of activity by hybrid and super PACs, which do not have any limitations on the size of the donations they can accept. Hybrid and super PACs have spent $7.4 billion in the 2026 election cycle, five times more than such spending in 2018.

In 2026, spending from hybrid and super PACs will account for a majority of the total spending, reflecting the increasing importance of outside groups over campaigns and parties. Through the pre-general report, about $13.4 billion has been spent on the 2026 midterms, smashing previous records.

For more on the role of dark money during this year’s midterms — and what can be done to curtail its influence in the future — check out my new column in The Guardian.