Trump Pledges $400 Million and Bloomberg $80 Million as Vast Sums Flood Midterm Races

Updated 04:36 UTC, Oct 21, 2026. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, Oct 20, that his political operation will have spent more than $400 million by Election Day to help Republicans hold Congress, and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is putting about $80 million behind Democrats in the same final stretch, according to Reuters and USA Today.

Trump made the claim in an Oct 20 post on Truth Social, two weeks before the Nov 3 midterm elections. "I have spent, or will be spending, over 400 Million Dollars by Election Day," he wrote, adding that more than $300 million had already gone to advertising, voter contact, rallies, get out the vote work and election integrity efforts. USA Today said Trump appeared to be referring to MAGA Inc., the super PAC run by donors aligned with him. Reuters reported that MAGA Inc. and an affiliated group, No Going Back PAC, have spent at least $226 million on the elections so far, according to campaign filings.

The other side of the flood

Bloomberg's team told The New York Times that he was sending about $80 million to Democrats in September and October, Reuters reported. At least $50 million of that money was for House races, including $24 million for Everytown for Gun Safety, a group Bloomberg co-founded, and $16 million for House Majority PAC, the main super PAC aligned with House Democratic leaders. Reuters said it had not independently verified the Bloomberg spending, and Bloomberg's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Treat the $80 million as reported by the Times from Bloomberg's own team, not as a filing checked by Reuters.

Candidates on one side, outside groups on the other

The late money sits on a split that has shaped this cycle. Democratic candidates have outraised Republican rivals race after race, according to a CNBC analysis of Federal Election Commission filings. Republicans answered with outside groups. The Senate Leadership Fund, the main Republican Senate super PAC, raised a record $272.9 million from July through September, roughly $122 million more than its Democratic counterpart. The Congressional Leadership Fund, on the House side, raised a record $94.4 million in the same quarter and entered October with $156 million in cash.

Reuters reported in late September that independent committees had already spent more than $1.56 billion on federal elections, with about $496 million of that spent just since Labor Day. Republicans had reserved at least $888 million in advertising, compared with at least $666 million for Democrats, according to AdImpact figures cited by Reuters.

What the money is trying to hold

Democrats need to flip the House and are chasing the Senate. Republicans hold the House 219 to 214, with two vacancies, and the Senate 53 to 47. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has projected that Democrats are most likely to gain a net nine to 19 House seats, which would be enough to take the chamber, and it rates seven Senate races as toss-ups, six of them held by Republicans.

Trump is spending at that scale while his approval has fallen to record lows in some polls, USA Today reported. Whether outside money can close the gap Democratic candidates built in direct fundraising is the open question of the last two weeks. Candidate money goes further, because campaigns pay lower advertising rates.

This is a developing story.