Clyburn: No Democrats are worried about Musk’s primary threats

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) claimed he does not know a single Democrat concerned about tech billionaire Elon Musk’s threat to fund moderate primary challenges against sitting Democrats in deep-blue districts.

Clyburn, a veteran lawmaker, argued on Saturday that Democrats will overcome Musk by outworking their opposition.

“Look, I‘m a child of the 60s. I grew up here in South Carolina. Uh, I was I missed the vote yesterday because I was, uh, part of eulogizing the gentleman from very modest backgrounds who brought that flag down off the statehouse dome and started the effort, uh, all over the South, uh, to get rid of all of these confederate emblems,” Clyburn said during his Saturday appearance on CNN.

“We did that with a lot of money against us. When I worked with John Lewis back in the 60s, a lot of money and power was against us,” he said, referring to the influential civil rights activist and former lawmaker. “We did what we had to do, and I don‘t know of a single Democrat who is afraid of Elon Musk‘s money because we stay close to our constituents and we will outwork him."

The South Carolina Democrat’s comments come just a few days after Musk, a close ally of President-elect Trump, said he would fund challengers against incumbent Democrats in heavy-blue areas.

“Oh … forgot to mention that I’m also going to be funding moderate candidates in heavily Democrat districts, so that the country can get rid of those who don’t represent them, like this jacka‑‑,” Musk said Thursday on the social media platform X.

Musk, alongside former 2024 GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, was selected by Trump to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which will focus on slashing government spending.

Over the course of this week, Musk showcased his influence over government funding negotiations on Capitol Hill, repeatedly weighing in on the pending legislation with his posts on X as the Friday midnight deadline loomed. He helped torpedo the initial bipartisan stopgap spending bill that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) rolled out after negotiating with Democrats.

The Tesla CEO was not shy about backing Trump during the 2024 presidential election, spending at least $250 million to help elect the Republican candidate for a second term in the White House, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. America PAC, a Super PAC that was formed during the 2024 cycle and is heavily financed by Musk, also spent money on a variety of House races.

Building America’s Future, a Musk-backed dark-money group, spent $23 million last year, according to recent tax records. The organization is led by Generra Peck and Phil Cox, two Republican operatives with ties to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). During 2022, the group raked in $53 million, according to tax filings.

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