Senate Republicans worry that tech billionaire Elon Musk's threat to create a new party and an ongoing feud with President Donald Trump could cost them seats in the narrowly divided chamber in the 2026 midterm elections.
Musk, through his America Party, will campaign on reducing the federal debt, which could draw fiscal conservative Republican voters, The Hill reported Thursday.
He has also vowed to support primary challenges against Republicans who voted for the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which he referred to as a "disgusting abomination" that would destroy American jobs.
And even while lawmakers say they do not think America Party candidates would win congressional seats, they fear that candidates backed by Musk could split the votes, allowing Democrats to win.
"If he wants to ensure never returning to a prepandemic level of spending, never balancing our budget, that would be a good thing to do," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said when asked about Musk's plans for a new political party.
"He'd be splitting our party," Johnson added. "We actually have some people concerned about the deficit. Democrats don't."
However, Johnson warned his fellow GOP lawmakers that "we better get our act together in terms of reducing spending in our party."
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., a former chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, pointed out a third party has never gained a majority in the Senate, and its candidates have affected election outcomes.
For example, in Montana, Republicans blamed Libertarians Rick Breckenridge and Dan Cox for splitting the vote, helping Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., win elections in 2012 and 2018.
Moran said the "personal nature" of the fighting between Trump and Musk, one-time DOGE leader, might seem that Musk is waging a "personal vendetta" with his new party, rather than pushing for political change.
Musk, as the world's richest man, would also be able to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into political races, which would make the candidates he backs become more of a threat, Moran warned.
"Elon Musk has the capability of funding and financing campaigns and candidates," he said. "It's one of the things that challengers often are lacking, the resources necessary to get their message out to become known. Money is often a determining factor in accomplishing that."
According to the Federal Election Commission, Musk spent more than $290 million on the 2024 election.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., also agreed that candidates backed by Musk through the America Party could take votes away from Republicans.
Still, he said he thinks that some "frustrated Democrats" who think their party has gone too far to the left might also be enticed by a third party.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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