WASHINGTON — President Trump pledged Wednesday to campaign for Republican candidates in 35 races over the final weeks before November's midterm elections, and Elon Musk's super PAC disclosed it had spent more than $800,000 in August backing GOP Senate and House candidates in seven states.

The combined push, joined by a mail-ballot bill Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., plans to introduce Thursday, opens the Republican midterm ground game as party leaders try to defy historical headwinds while defending a 53-47 Senate majority and a narrower House edge.

Trump made his pledge at a White House Rose Garden dinner attended by GOP lawmakers, including Reps. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, Tom Barrett of Michigan and Mike Collins of Georgia. "I'm going to take the final 30 days, and maybe a little bit more than that, because it's all about 35 races," Trump said, naming Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — running against Democrat James Talarico for a Senate seat — as early stops. Trump's super PAC MAGA Inc. holds a war chest of more than $400 million, according to the latest campaign finance reports.

Musk's opening salvo

Musk's America PAC reported spending $247,595 in Texas, $170,224 in Maine, $105,675 in Ohio, $91,458 in New Hampshire, $54,600 in Iowa, $25,605 in Michigan and $17,235 in Alaska. All of the August outlays were categorized as printing costs, suggesting mail advertisements. America PAC spent more than $239 million on behalf of Republican candidates in 2024, and Musk has authorized the group to spend more than $100 million this cycle, The New York Times reported.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told CBS News he met with Musk during a Texas campaign swing but declined to detail their conversation. "He's made public a lot of what he's doing. I'm going to talk about our conversation on that point, but we're gonna win the midterms," Johnson said. In a Fox News Digital interview from Maine, the speaker said, "I am very bullish about the outcome on election night," and predicted Republicans would grow the House majority.

Mail-ballot bill

Lee, Florida's former secretary of state, is introducing a bill that would require mail and absentee ballots to reach election officials by the close of polls on Election Day. Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., is carrying a companion measure. The proposals parallel a March 2025 Trump executive order that set an Election Day receipt deadline for mail-in ballots. A separate Trump order making changes to U.S. Postal Service ballot handling — including proof-of-citizenship checks and required federal-election stationery — is being contested in court by more than 20 states.

Democrats argue the money and the rules together tilt the field. "Republicans thought they had the Senate locked down, but now Democrats, we are on the path to victory. We've blown the map wide open," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said two weeks ago. Opponents of the mail-ballot restrictions have warned the changes would sow chaos in the current system, and Democratic critics say Musk's promised nine-figure outlay will drown out grassroots spending in states from Maine to Alaska.

Republicans will hold their first-ever midterm convention next week, and early voting begins later this month in half a dozen states.