Storyline · business · 2 reports from 2 newsrooms

Megadonors pour $1 billion into US midterms

First reported Oct 31, 8:00 AM ET · Latest Nov 3, 2:55 AM ET · Explainer updated Nov 3, 4:00 AM ET

Where things stand

The BBC says it provides TV, radio and online options for following the US midterm elections, BBC reports.

Continuum

Facts

Facts appear here as Relay matches them to the reports.

Timeline

What changed: Ten wealthy donors have collectively contributed $1 billion to the 2026 midterm races, MarketWatch reports.

Every report, newest first

  1. How to follow the US midterm elections on the BBC — BBC News

    Whether you plan to follow the US midterms on TV, radio or online, the BBC has you covered.

  2. These 10 megadonors have spent a total of $1 billion on the midterm elections — MarketWatch

    They’ve helped turn this year’s midterms into “the most expensive election cycle on record.”

Questions

  • How the unprecedented donor spending will affect voter behavior and election outcomes remains unclear. Open

We send a confirmation first. At most a few emails a day, never overnight, and one click unsubscribes and deletes your address. For readers 13 and over. Privacy

More: background

The midterm elections determine control of the US Congress and are typically less high‑profile than presidential contests. “Megadonors” are ultra‑wealthy individuals who can give large sums to political campaigns or related groups, influencing the cost and scale of election campaigning.

How this works: stories from different newsrooms are grouped by topic, then AI writes the explainer using only those reports. It may miss context the reports don't include.