Giant pumpkins battle for heavyweight glory and the world record in California

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — Giant pumpkin growers and their massive gourds will converge on Monday in Northern California for an annual pumpkin-weighing contest, competing for the top prize and a chance to challenge the world record set just last week in England.

At least 30 growers of giant pumpkins have signed up for the 53rd World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, said event spokesman Ronan Fowler.

Among the participants is four-time champion Travis Gienger, a horticulture teacher from Minnesota, whose winning streak ended last year after he was unable to participate because his pumpkin broke while it was still growing.

Gienger, who this year had to deal with temperatures that dipped below freezing, grew a pumpkin whose circumference is so big it could be a world record contender, Fowler said.

Fowler said last week that Gienger and his father planned to take turns driving 30 hours over the weekend to get the pumpkin the size of a small car to California.

The new world record was set by Ian Paton, of Lymington, on England's south coast, with a giant squash weighing 2,857 pounds (1,296 kilograms). That's heavier than two and a half concert grand pianos.

Paton grows his giant gourds in a greenhouse, while Gienger grows them in the pumpkin patch in his backyard in Anoka, a city on the banks of the Mississippi River north of Minneapolis, Fowler said.

“The fact that Travis can weather the elements, like 30-degree weather, and still grow this massive pumpkin is pretty unbelievable,” the spokesman said.

Brandon Dawson, of Santa Rosa, California, who won the top prize last year with a behemoth of a pumpkin weighing 2,346 pounds (1,064 kilograms), will also compete.

The pumpkin champ this year will win $9 per pound of pumpkin and have their lumpy gourd showcased during a parade through Half Moon Bay this weekend. If they break the world record, they will take an extra prize of $30,000.

Monday’s festivities, which will kick off the city's fall celebration, will also include a special appearance by pumpkin carver Mike Valladao.

Sadly, these giants are grown for their size, not flavor, so there will be no giant pumpkin pies at the end of the festival.

Rodriguez reported from San Francisco.

A woman looks toward a pumpkin that will be entered in the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Jesus Cruzaley, 10, midde right, celebrates with his grandfather, Harold Stern, after his pumpkin was weighed at the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

People prepare a pumpkin for the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

FILE - Brandon Dawson, left, celebrates after winning the Safeway 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)

Miles, 6, drives past a large pumpkin that will entered in the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk, the world's only trillionaire, has quietly become the biggest known donor in this year's midterm elections, doling out more than $276 million since July to try to save Republican majorities in Congress.

The numbers, first reported by the New York Times ahead of this week's federal filing deadline, were confirmed by Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for Musk's super PAC.

The money includes $158 million given to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC supporting Republican Senate candidates, one of the largest known political donations in American history, according to the Times.

Another $76 million went to America PAC, a Musk super PAC, which has once again built out a major turnout operation like the one it used to help elect President Donald Trump by knocking on doors in 2024.

Musk also provided $10 million to Lone Star Liberty PAC, a group that supports the Republican nominee for Senate in Texas, Ken Paxton. The race has been a major focus of Musk's efforts.

It's a dramatic turnaround since last May, when Musk said he intended to cut back on future political spending. “I think I’ve done enough," he said at the time.

Despite the cash infusion, Musk has generally kept a lower profile than in 2024, when he appeared on stage next to Trump at rallies, and in the early days of the president's second term, when he led the Department of Government Efficiency.

He had a falling out with Trump while leaving his government post, but the two have since reconciled. Trump presented Musk with the National Medal of Science last week.

Musk's net worth has fluctuated around the trillion-dollar line this year based on changes in stock prices, but he topped $1 trillion again last week according to Forbes magazine.

Republican have a gaping financial advantage over their Democratic counterparts — a disparity that has been a rare bright spot for a party that is bracing for major potential losses amid deep voter frustration over the president's performance, stubbornly high prices and the unpopular war with Iran.

They have been using the money to blanket the airwaves in the race's final stretch.

“These robust investments have allowed the G.O.P. apparatus to get its message out so Republicans can have a fighting chance to defy history," Romeo told the Times.

Democrats responded to the news by accusing Republicans of using vast amounts of cash to mask their shortcomings.

“Republicans are hoping to buy these elections, injecting tens of millions into races to try and outrun their unpopular candidates, unpopular president, and unpopular economy,” said Lauren French, a spokesperson for Democrats' Senate Majority PAC.

President Donald Trump, right, presents the National Medal of Science to Elon Musk at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)