Former Musk PAC Lawyer Seeks Congressional Seat in Texas District Tied to Billionaire's Businesses

Chris Gober once led Elon Musk's political operation as director and chief lawyer of America PAC. Now, with Election Day less than a week away, he is the Republican candidate in an open Texas congressional race, seeking to represent a district that hosts part of Musk's expanding business empire.

Texas' 10th District is considered a safe seat for the GOP. It is home to the Terafab, a large artificial intelligence chip factory being built by Tesla and SpaceX. The district also runs through Pflugerville, where Musk's tunneling company, The Boring Co., has offices.

Gober is not emphasizing his Musk connection on the trail. His campaign website advertises an endorsement from President Donald Trump and promises to deliver the president's "America First Agenda," but as of Tuesday it mentioned neither Musk nor America PAC. Campaign manager Zach Gregory relayed Gober's response to CNBC: "My work with America PAC has been widely reported and is no secret." Gober said the site was updated in the final weeks of the race to focus on his priorities for district voters.

His Democratic opponent, Caitlin Rourk, has made the link a centerpiece of a new ad. "Elon Musk already had MAGA extremist Chris Gober as his lawyer. Now he wants him in Congress," a voice in the spot says. Rourk, a U.S. Army veteran and former Dell Technologies employee, told CNBC that Gober is "trying to bury his head in the sand" and hoping voters will not notice his background.

Federal Election Commission filings show SpaceX's political action committee has given $10,000 to Gober's campaign this cycle, a donation Axios reported first on Monday. SpaceX has pushed hard into AI in 2026, and the segment is now its largest business unit. Its third-quarter revenue rose ninefold to $7.56 billion from $813 million a year earlier, according to the company's Oct. 20 earnings update. Axios also reported that Gober's site removed a section titled "Ensuring America's AI Dominance" amid opposition to data centers. Gober said that does not signal a change in position, adding that Texas should lead in AI while protecting water and power supplies and ensuring rural communities share in the benefits.

Rourk said Gober would, if elected, tie taxpayer money to SpaceX through defense and to Tesla through transportation, and would oppose a subpoena of Musk. She was alluding to bipartisan concern over SpaceX's dealings in Ukraine and Democratic calls to investigate Musk's Department of Government Efficiency work. Gober's campaign, in a YouTube ad and an email to CNBC, countered that Rourk earns most of her household income from data center investments. Rourk called the claim laughable. She said she owns some Dell stock from employee equity grants during her 2021 to 2025 tenure, that it is not household income, and that she would sell it if elected.

Gober's law firm, Lex Politica, represents Musk and America PAC in two would-be class actions in Austin federal court. The suits alleged the PAC defrauded people in swing states in 2024 by promising a daily $1 million prize to randomly selected petition signers. At a Nov. 4, 2024 hearing in Philadelphia, Gober said the 18 winners were not chosen at random but picked by the PAC based on who it thought would be effective spokespeople, NBC News reported at the time. On Oct. 15, the parties told the judges they had agreed to settle. Terms were not disclosed, and the PAC denied wrongdoing.

Gober told CNBC he is "proactively working" with the House Ethics Committee and would withdraw from all ongoing legal representations if elected, since members of Congress are barred from practicing law outside limited pro bono work. "I will make decisions based on what is best for my constituents. Period," he said. Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

Whether Musk helps or hurts Gober is unclear. An April Verasight survey of 2,000 U.S. adults found 74% of Democrats, 53% of Independents and 17% of Republicans view Musk unfavorably. Verasight CEO Ben Leff said candidates associated with Musk could face added challenges in "an already weak election cycle for Republicans."