Money from the world’s first trillionaire continues to flow into Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District with less than one week to go until the 2026 midterm elections.
Elon Musk’s super PAC, America PAC, has spent over $632,000 trying to get Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh) across the finish line. A super PAC is a type of political action committee that can raise and spend an unlimited amount of money in support of a candidate.
Related: Meet the candidates: Ryan Mackenzie and Bob Brooks face off in PA-07
According to Open Secrets, America PAC had spent roughly $269,000 as of Oct. 29 supporting Mackenzie and another $362,000 attacking his opponent, Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter and union leader, running against Mackenzie as of Oct. 28.
“Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire off the backs of working people. Now he’s spending that fortune to buy this congressional seat because he knows lapdog Ryan Mackenzie will do whatever he’s told,” Brooks said in a statement.
Musk, CEO of Tesla and owner of X, has spent more than $400 million supporting Republicans since the start of this election cycle, with over $139 million going to his super PAC.
Last year, President Donald Trump appointed Musk to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was created without congressional approval, and cut critical federal government agencies, which led to the loss of thousands of federal jobs in the state.
One agency Musk came under scrutiny for cutting was the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which administered foreign aid. Some estimates suggest that Musk’s cuts cost the lives of 500,000 children due to the loss of foreign aid.
Mackenzie’s campaign has also received direct financial support from the Uihlein family and the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), both of whom national right-to-work laws undermining the effectiveness of unions.
Related: Union members respond to Ryan Mackenzie attacks on Bob Brooks’ labor record
Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein are conservative megadonors who support anti-union causes and own Uline, the cardboard box and shipping company. Campaign finance records show they each donated $7,000 directly to Mackenzie’s campaign this cycle, while ABC’s PAC donated another $10,000, the maximum allowed amount, directly to Mackenzie. ABC PAC spent an additional $33,050 in support of Mackenzie as of Oct. 2.
While serving in the state legislature, Mackenzie backed over a dozen right-to-work bills from 2013 to 2024 and promised to turn the commonwealth into a right-to-work state shortly after getting elected.
“I’m the vice chair of the Labor and Industry Committee. So bills that come before that committee, which I’m a strong advocate of, are things like changing our prevailing wage requirements here in Pennsylvania and also getting Pennsylvania to be a right-to-work state,” Mackenzie told a local conservative group in 2013.
