More than $330 million has been spent by outside groups to influence the outcome of 2026 Senate races, with more than three months to go until Election Day. And 86% percent of that total has been spent on just 10 contests.
So called independent expenditure groups may raise and spend unlimited amounts to support or oppose candidates, but may not directly coordinate with campaigns.
No 2026 race – House or Senate – has seen as much outside money as the Senate election in Texas, where $63.7 million has been spent as of the morning of July 21. More than half of that total – $35.4 million – has been spent by Texans for a Conservative Majority, a super PAC that had supported Sen. John Cornyn, who was defeated in the GOP primary by state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Only one of the 10 races with the most independent spending has an incumbent still on the ballot: the Maine election, where Sen. Susan Collins (R) is running for a sixth term. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) had been seeking re-election in South Carolina until his sudden passing on July 11.
(function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();
The biggest outside spender so far is the United Democracy Project, which has shelled out $38.7 million. The super PAC is primarily funded by AIPAC and works to elect pro-Israel candidates.
