Nate Morris says a massive contribution from Elon Musk to a super PAC backing his Republican Senate run in Kentucky “certainly gives us the firepower and the ammo to go the distance, to be able to get out our message.”
Morris, a businessman and political newcomer who’s leaning heavily into his support for President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, spoke after Musk wrote a $10 million check to the pro-Morris Fight for Kentucky super PAC.
The donation from Musk — the world’s wealthiest person — is described as his largest-ever contribution in a U.S. Senate race.
Morris is one of the leading contenders in a crowded Republican field aiming to replace retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former longtime Senate GOP leader. Other top candidates include Rep. Andy Barr and former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who was the GOP nominee for governor in 2023.
“Elon picks winners,” Morris said. “Elon has been the greatest entrepreneur in the history of our world, and people are going to be talking about him for 1,000 years. And he knows success. He knows leadership, and I think this is another example of him putting his money where his mouth is.”
Morris noted he has largely bankrolled his own campaign so far, with additional support from small-dollar donors around the country. He argued those backers want to “stop the McConnell machine” and send an outsider and pro-Trump businessman to Washington.
But, he said, Musk’s backing changes the scale of what his campaign can do.
“This investment from Elon Musk is going to give our message, our campaign, the opportunity to continue to amplify why we should be the U.S. senator here in Kentucky, and the kind of senator we’re going to be,” Morris said.
Asked why he believes Musk chose to support him, Morris said he recently spoke with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO and suggested the appeal was his outsider brand — and his willingness to take on Kentucky’s political establishment.
“I think he saw an outside business guy and someone that was willing to take on the Mitch McConnell machine, and someone that’s going to tell it like it is, and has experience creating jobs,” Morris said. He added that Musk may also agree with him on “a really tough, hard-line immigration policy.”
Musk is also close with Vice President JD Vance, who counts Morris as a personal friend.
The donation was first reported by Axios earlier Monday. Sources said it was made last week. It’s described as Musk’s largest single contribution supporting a federal candidate, other than Trump.
Musk poured nearly $300 million into supporting Trump’s 2024 bid through America PAC, a Trump-aligned super PAC, with much of the spending focused on get-out-the-vote efforts and advertising in key battleground states as Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris faced off.
The relationship between Trump and Musk hit turbulence last year, including talk from Musk about forming a third party, before the two publicly moved toward a reconciliation in recent months.
After a November dinner with the president at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, Musk also made major contributions to leading GOP-aligned super PACs supporting House and Senate Republicans.
Morris launched his Senate bid in June during an interview on Donald Trump Jr.’s podcast. He later held a kickoff rally with conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk. Morris was the final Senate candidate endorsed by Kirk before Kirk was assassinated a couple of months later.
Morris has also received support from several prominent MAGA figures, including Sens. Bernie Moreno of Ohio and Jim Banks of Indiana, as well as Steve Bannon, a former Trump strategist and host of the “War Room” podcast.
Andy Barr’s campaign responded sharply to the news. Barr campaign manager Blake Gober said in a statement, “The more money Nate Morris spends, the more Kentuckians get to see him and the worse he does.”
“Nate Morris spending money made this a two-man race between Andy Barr and Daniel Cameron,” Gober argued. “Nate Morris spending more money will cement it that way.”
On the Democratic side, eight candidates are seeking their party’s nomination in Kentucky’s Senate race, including 2020 Senate nominee Amy McGrath.
Kentucky’s primary is scheduled for May 19. The eventual GOP nominee is expected to enter the November general election as the clear favorite.
