Celebrities Donating to Politicians in Key Senate Races

Barbra Streisand, Elon Musk and Seth MacFarlane are among the wealthy celebrities donating thousands of dollars to candidates in key Senate races, as the battle for control of the upper chamber of Congress heats up ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Democrats are hoping to flip control of the Senate and believe President Donald Trump's declining national approval rating could provide them an opening to expand the battleground despite a challenging map.

Celebrity support can provide a financial boost for candidates if well-known entertainers or public figures open their wallets ahead of competitive races. Many celebrities can also be influential over the public if they speak out about specific races.

What Are the Most Competitive Senate Races?

Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, so Democrats must flip four seats to win control.

GOP-held seats in Maine, which Trump lost by 7 percentage points in 2024, and North Carolina, which he won by 3, are Democrats' top targets. But no other states he lost or won by single digits are up for grabs, meaning Democrats have to compete in more conservative states if they want to flip the majority.

As a result, Democrats are contesting Republican-held seats in double-digit Trump states like Alaska, Iowa, Ohio and Texas as additional opportunities. Polls suggest those races may be competitive in November despite the GOP's advantage there.

Republicans, meanwhile, view Democratic-held seats in Georgia and Michigan as competitive, as Trump narrowly won those states in the 2024 election. They are also looking at an open seat in New Hampshire as being potentially competitive.

Democrats believe Trump’s approval rating, which has declined economic concerns such as the cost of living and higher gas prices amid the war in Iran, could help them expand the Senate battleground this year. Midterms are typically a referendum on the sitting president, and the president’s party historically loses seats.

A new poll from YouGov and The Economist found that 58 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s job performance, while 38 percent approve. Among independent voters, a critical voting bloc, 25 percent gave him positive marks, while 68 percent disapproved.

Which Celebrities Are Donating to Senate Candidates in the Midterms?

Barbra Streisand, for instance, has donated significant funds to Democrats in Senate races, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records reviewed by Newsweek. She has donated $2,500 to state Representative James Talarico in Texas, $500 to former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, $2,500 to Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, $1,000 to Michigan state Senator Mallory McMorrow and $2,000 to Mississippi candidate Scott Colom, according to FEC records. Streisand is known as a prominent supporter of the Democratic Party.

Actress Cynthia Nixon has donated to progressive candidates, giving $500 to Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Nixon is an outspoken progressive and supporter of the political left, having supported New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign. She ran for governor against Democrat Andrew Cuomo in 2018 but fell short in the primary.

Melinda French Gates has provided significant donations to Democratic candidates as well, including $3,500 to Ossoff, $3,500 to Cooper and $7,000 to former Representative Mary Peltola, who is running for Senate in Alaska. She has also donated to some Democratic senators running in safer blue states such as Delaware’s Chris Coons, Virginia’s Mark Warner and New Jersey’s Cory Booker.

MacFarlane has donated more than $25,000 to Cooper's campaign, according to FEC records. Joseph Gordon-Levitt donated $7,000 to Ossoff and $7,000 to New Hampshire Senate candidate Chris Pappas. He also gave $8,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

LeVar Burton donated $7,000 to Juliana Stratton, who won the Democratic primary in Illinois' Senate race to replace retiring Senator Dick Durbin.

Musk, who has become increasingly close to Republicans, has donated significantly to the GOP, providing $10 million to the Senate Leadership Fund PAC over multiple donations. The funds will be used to support Republicans in various competitive races.

Musk has become a major GOP donor and worked in the Trump administration at the Department of Government Efficiency when the president returned to office. Although they had a falling out in 2025, Musk remains supportive of conservative causes and candidates across the country.

Robert Kraft, the owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots, has donated to Republicans and Democrats. He gave $5,000 to Maine Senator Susan Collins and $7,000 to South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, both Republican, and donated $3,500 to Representative Haley Stevens, a Democrat running for Senate in Michigan.

Where 2026 Senate Race Stands-New Poll

A new poll released by The New York Times on Wednesday revealed Democrats' chances of flipping key Senate seats.

The poll found that North Carolina presented their strongest lead, with Cooper ahead of former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley by 7 points. Cooper's support stood at 50 percent to Whatley's 43 percent, according to the poll.

In Maine, Collins received 47 percent support to Platner’s 49 percent.

Texas was the closest of the races polled, with Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and Talarico each receiving 47 percent support.

Republicans led in three other states.

Senator Dan Sullivan was ahead of Peltola by 2 points in Alaska, where 47 percent of respondents said they would vote for Sullivan, compared to Peltola's 45 percent.

In Iowa, Representative Ashley Hinson received 48 percent to state Representative Josh Turek's 46 percent.

Senator Jon Husted led Democratic former Senator Sherrod Brown by 3 points in Ohio with 50 percent to Brown's 47.

Notably, the pollsters surveyed only GOP-held states. Democrats are defending seats in Trump-won Georgia and Michigan, as well as light-blue New Hampshire.

The poll surveyed 3,659 likely voters across the six states June 15-29.

What Do Prediction Markets Show?

Prediction markets favored Republicans to hold control of the Senate as of Wednesday morning. Kalshi placed their chances of holding on to the Senate at 58 percent, while Polymarket gave them a 57 percent chance of retaining their majority.

Democrats' chances in the Senate have fluctuated over the past few months. At the start of the year, Republicans had a 67 percent chance of retaining control, but that narrowed, with Kalshi showing a tied race in March, April and May. Democrats even were briefly favored in mid-April.

However, over the past few weeks, Republicans' chances have ticked up again.

Prediction markets allow traders to buy and sell contracts tied to political outcomes and current events, aggregating real‑money wagers into probability estimates. Prices fluctuate as traders react to polling, fundraising, candidate developments and broader political trends. They measure trader sentiment at a given moment but do not always accurately predict the future.

What Happens Next

Polls and fundraising will continue to be watched over the coming months as key metrics ahead of the midterms.

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This story was originally published July 1, 2026 at 12:46 PM.