Sports Owners Got Very Little for Their Money in Midterm Elections

Tuesday’s midterm elections provided a sweeping win for Democrats across the country, and for most of the professional sports team owners who poured more than $100 million into the races, a poor return on investment.

The vast majority of dollars sports owners spent on the midterms went to Republicans, according to a Front Office Sports analysis of Federal Election Commission filings for the principal owners of teams in the NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, and NWSL.

On Tuesday, Democrats took control of the House and the Senate, flipping at least seven Senate seats from Republican control. Many of the Republicans in battleground Senate races, including candidates running in Ohio, Texas, Maine, and North Carolina, received hundreds of thousands of dollars in support from pro sports team owners.

Of the top 25 donors to the midterms among sports owners, only three of them gave mostly or entirely to Democrats: Seattle Seahawks owner Vinod Khosla ($2.09 million), Chicago Stars owner Laura Ricketts ($316,500), and Atlanta Hawks and United owner Arthur Blank ($315,500).

The largest donor among team owners was Dallas Mavericks owner Miriam Adelson, a major player in Republican politics thanks to her roughly $50 billion net worth stemming from her late husband’s casino business. After giving $100 million to President Donald Trump in 2024, she donated more than $67 million to Republicans this cycle. Also on Tuesday, ESPN reported Adelson has sold controlling ownership of the Mavs to her daughter and son-in-law.

Some of the biggest surprises of the midterms received little to no support from team owners.

In South Carolina, where Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Republican Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, FOS found no recorded donations from principal team owners to either candidate. A handful of owners did contribute to Lindsey Graham before his death in July; Athletics minority owner Ken Jeong, a comedian and actor who joined a $70 million investment round in the team this summer, donated $6,000 to Andrews.

Mississippi’s Senate race, where Democrat Scott Colom currently leads Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by just 43 votes with ballots still outstanding, also attracted little fanfare. Los Angeles Kings and Galaxy owner Philip Anschutz and San Francisco Giants owner Charles B. Johnson donated to Hyde-Smith’s principal campaign committee, while no owners gave to Colom. 

In 2018, the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball donated $5,000 to Hyde-Smith, but MLB requested the money be returned after backlash to Hyde-Smith saying she would be willing to attend a “public hanging” if a supporter invited her. Johnson also donated to Hyde-Smith and eventually requested a refund after calling her comments “stupid.”

Other big winners from Tuesday including Michigan’s Abdul Ed-Sayed, Maine’s Troy Jackson, and Iowa’s Josh Turek took in $0 of direct donations to their campaign committees from principal team owners, according to FEC records.

Meanwhile, candidates in key Senate races that did receive money from the sports world mostly struck out.

Team owners gave more than $350,000 to Republican Senate candidates in nine battleground states, almost six times what they gave to their Democratic opponents, according to FOS analysis of principal campaign committee donations. The filings show more than 15 team owners gave to re-elect Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, and more than a dozen owners donated to support Jon Husted in Ohio. Both candidates conceded their races Tuesday night.

As of Wednesday morning, eight of the nine battleground states analyzed by FOS—Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas—all went blue. The race in Alaska has not yet been called.

Not all Republican donations by sports team owners went to losing candidates. Tennessee Rep. Matt Van Epps won reelection with the help of donors including Browns and Columbus soccer owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, and Nashville Predators owner and former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts won reelection following donations from Broncos owner Rob Walton, Dee Haslam, and Magic co-owner Richard “Dick” Devos.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson from Louisiana, who announced Wednesday he will not run for House Minority Leader, received donations from owners including Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick, Athletics and San Jose Earthquakes owner John Fisher, and Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs. Anschutz was the single largest donor to Johnson’s leadership PAC with more than $500,000.

On the other side of the aisle, Blank contributed to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s successful reelection campaign. 76ers and Devils co-owner David Blitzer donated to Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper’s reelection, and a number of owners including Blitzer, Washington Capitals, Wizards, and Mystics owner Ted Leonsis, and Vancouver Whitecaps owner Steve Luczo contributed to groups supporting Virginia Sen. Mark Warner or his principal campaign committee.

Padres Pitcher: El-Sayed “A Great Progressive Voice”

In Michigan, at least 10 owners donated to Republican Mike Rogers, combining to give more than $50,000 to his principal campaign committee. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, meanwhile, gave $100,000 to the Great Lakes Conservatives Fund, a PAC running ads on Rogers’s behalf.

While El-Sayed received no support from principal team owners, he did receive a $1,250 campaign donation from Padres pitcher Lucas Giolito. As election results were coming in Tuesday night showing El-Sayed was likely to prevail, Giolito explained his support to FOS. 

“I’ve been very fortunate in my career. I feel it’s very important to give back when this country has given me so much,” Giolito told FOS. “When I saw Abdul’s movement growing in Michigan, I just wanted to throw some support his way. His platform and policy aligns with my values, and although I don’t live in Michigan, I believe he’ll be a great progressive voice in the US senate.”

Cooper Flips North Carolina With Support From Silver, $30K From Owners

Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper decisively beat Republican Michael Whatley by roughly 20 points to take back another Senate seat for Democrats.

Both Cooper and Whatley received around $30,000 from sports owners, with the former governor slightly ahead.

Blitzer, Seattle Kraken owner Samantha Holloway, and Pacers and Fever owner Herb Simon donated directly to Cooper’s principal campaign committee. New York Giants chairman Steve Tisch, Seahawks owner Khosla, and Philadelphia Flyers governor Dan Hilferty also donated to Cooper through joint fundraising committees.

Additionally, NBA commissioner Adam Silver gave to Cooper, his affiliated joint fundraising committee, and the North Carolina Democratic Party. Silver and Cooper crossed paths when the NBA brought the All-Star Game to Charlotte in 2019; the league had relocated the 2017 All-Star Game out of North Carolina due to the state’s controversial “bathroom bill” signed by Cooper’s predecessor, which was rolled back by the now Senator-elect. Silver also donated to Cooper’s gubernatorial reelection campaign in 2020.

Whatley received support from a group of prolific Republican donors including Magic owners Dick and Dan DeVos, Broncos owner Rob Walton, Giants owner Johnson, and Anschutz.

Dolan Comes Up Empty

State-level races went no better for Republicans, with Democrats flipping governor’s mansions in Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Georgia, and Nevada and clinching a majority of governorships for the first time in 16 years.

In New York, Knicks and Rangers owner James Dolan bet big on Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman, who fell far short Tuesday night. Incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul leads Blakeman by more than 20 points with 88% of the vote reported.

Dolan had previously been a major backer of Hochul, pouring $700,000 to support her 2022 campaign through a super PAC controlled by Madison Square Garden. This cycle, however, he flipped his support to Blakeman. Dolan directed millions to Blakeman’s campaign and affiliated PACs, according to a New York Times analysis, and also hosted a fundraiser for Blakeman during a Knicks preseason game.

Ohio gubernatorial Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy also lost after receiving significant support from sports owners in his home state. Cleveland Guardians owner Paul Dolan, Cincinnati Reds owner Robert Castellini, Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown, Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert all gave to Ramaswamy, FOIAball reported.

Democratic nominee Amy Acton defeated Ramaswamy by roughly 8 points. Ramaswamy came under fire late in the campaign for running an ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother who lost custody of Acton over allegations that her husband sexually abused Acton.