Kalshi Co-founders Are Hedging Their Bets on 2026 Midterms

The company has deep ties to Donald Trump Jr., but top executives are supporting both Democrats and Republicans.

Kalshi app in the Apple app store

Kalshi directly encourages its users to bet in politics — from political speeches to election outcomes. Erin Hooley/AP

Kalshi co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara want you to bet on everything — but the duo is personally hedging their bets on whether Republicans or Democrats will win control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections.

Mansour and Lopes Lara have together donated about $1 million to federal political campaigns and political action committees this election cycle, according to a NOTUS analysis of federal campaign finance records. They’re contributing to a broad range of Democratic and Republican campaigns — many of the candidates they’ve contributed to are involved in prediction market regulation in Congress.

Since June 2025, Mansour has spread $330,300 among Republican congressional campaigns and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He also contributed $251,100 across individual Democratic congressional campaigns and the Democratic Senatorial Congressional Committee.