Dark money, misleading claims flood Kansas ahead of judicial selection referendum
From The Kansas Reflector: A ballot initiative in Kansas that would have made state Supreme Court Justices selected by popular vote saw more than $12 million in advertising, much of it funded from outside the state. The largest spender on the “vote yes” side received its funding from a Tennessee-based PAC with ties to Leonard Leo, the chairman of the board of directors of the Federalist Society. Kansas United for Impartial Courts, the largest spender in the race, which opposed the measure, received more than $4 million from the American Civil Liberties Union.
Chart of the Week: Outside groups spend millions on House primaries
From OpenSecrets: Data from OpenSecrets shows the spending in the 10 most expensive primary elections for U.S. House. In total, outside groups have spent more than $140 million in those races, with the most expensive race, the election for New York’s 12th district, seeing more than $40 million in spending. Most of this spending is to influence primary elections that lead into non-competitive general elections. Only 2 of the 10 races are considered tossups, and only 2 more are solid Republican seats.
Musk Plans to Spend at Least $100 Million to Help Republicans in the Midterms
From The New York Times: Despite public arguments with the Republican Party last year, Elon Musk, who was briefly the world’s first trillionaire, is planning to spend more than $100 million boosting Republican candidates in the midterm elections this November. His Super PAC, America PAC, has been authorized to spend in battleground races for both House and Senate in 8 different states. Musk spent more than $300 million in 2024, primarily to boost President Trump’s campaign, but he took a step back from political spending after his support for a judicial candidate in Wisconsin in 2025 backfired.
Republican Congressional candidate wins 8th district primary even though he dropped out
From Michigan Public: A candidate who dropped out of the race in July won the Republican primary for Michigan’s 8th district. Thomas Smith, a retired engineer who owns a salsa company, won the primary despite having dropped out and endorsed another candidate last month. He defeated Amir Hassan, who reported raising more than $700,000. Smith reported raising just $1,850, in a handwritten filing he mailed to the FEC after he “had no success” accessing the FEC’s online filing system. Smith’s opponent in the general election, Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet, has raised more than $5 million.