US midterms campaign 'shattering' spending records to be most expensive ever

The US midterms campaign is set to be the most expensive on record - with the total cost projected to reach nearly $12bn (£9bn), according to Open Secrets, an independent organisation that tracks campaign finance.

Most of the spending is driven by outside political groups - known as Super Political Action Committees (Super Pacs) - pouring large sums of money into some key races ahead of election day on 3 November.

The top individual donor is billionaire businessman Elon Musk, who has spent almost half a billion dollars backing Republican candidates, particularly in Texas where many of his companies are based.

BBC Verify has looked into the figures and where the money was spent.

There are rules on how much people, parties and political action committees (Pacs) can give directly to candidates.

But Super Pacs can accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labour unions, and other political committees. They can't give that money directly to candidates but they can spend it supporting them indirectly.

According to the latest Federal Election Commission, external (FEC) filings which run to mid-October, more than $9.5bn had been spent in this midterms cycle.

Pacs and Super Pacs make up more than half of that - at about $5.5bn - with their spending in the last couple of months almost doubling.

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