Sen. Mike Lee's online friendship with Elon Musk pays off for Utah GOP

Sen. Mike Lee's online friendship with Twitter/X CEO Elon Musk is paying dividends for Utah Republicans.

According to Federal Election Commission data, Musk donated $10,000 to the Utah Republican Party on July 12. That same month, Musk made a $16,600 donation to the "Victory Fund" created by former 2nd Congressional District Republican candidate Colby Jenkins.

Those contributions appear to be the only donations to federal candidates made by Musk during the 2024 election cycle.

Musk's July 12 donation appears to coincide with a fundraiser held by the Utah Elephant Club. On that day, the Utah GOP raked in more than $43,000 in contributions.

It's not clear if Musk attended the Utah GOP fundraiser in person. Utah Republican Party Chair Rob Axson did not respond to a request for comment.

The donation to the Jenkins joint fundraising committee came July 24, the same day Musk attended Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress.

It's likely those donations from Musk were facilitated by Sen. Mike Lee, who has used his personal @BasedMikeLee account to cozy up to Musk in the last year. The two have interacted frequently on the platform Musk owns, most recently flogging a conspiracy theory that non-citizens are registering to vote in U.S. elections.

Lee is the only connection between Musk and Jenkins, who Lee surprisingly endorsed over incumbent Celeste Maloy just days before the Utah GOP convention in April. Maloy went on to narrowly defeat Jenkins in the primary election.

Musk has made hundreds of donations to both Republicans and Democrats since 2003, but the contribution to the Utah Republican Party marks the first time he's ever given to an individual state party. Axson previously worked as a staffer in Lee's office.