During the recent midterm elections, political factions both supporting and opposing the artificial intelligence (AI) sector invested heavily to sway electoral outcomes, leading to a mixed bag of results, including the defeat of several well-funded candidates.
Proponents of the AI industry, specifically two political action committees (PACs) — American Mission and Building the Future — collectively allocated $4.8 million to support South Carolina Senate hopeful Darline Graham, who ultimately lost the election. American Mission operates as the Republican financing arm of Leading the Future (LTF), a larger political entity supported by the president of OpenAI, Greg Brockman, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
In addition, American Mission invested over $500,000 to promote Republican House candidates Aaron Flint from Montana and Laurie Buckhout from North Carolina, both of whom were unsuccessful. On the other hand, LTF’s Democratic counterpart, Think Big, had more success by backing Florida Congressman Jared Moskowitz, who secured reelection.
Conversely, organizations pushing for stricter AI regulations experienced mixed outcomes as well. Public First, supported by Anthropic, backed several Republican candidates who lost but found more success with Democratic candidates. They also contributed $3 million to a PAC aiding California State Senator Scott Wiener, who was leading his race at the time.
Guardrails Alliance, a group aiming to make receiving funds from AI companies a political liability, spent over $1 million opposing candidates like California Representative Jimmy Gomez and Montana’s Aaron Flint, both of whom lost. It did, however, invest $300,000 to support Angela Gonzales-Torres, who defeated Gomez.
Assessing the impact of AI-related expenditures amid the broader Democratic wave that characterized the elections is challenging. Elon Musk, who allegedly invested over $500 million in backing Republican candidates, also witnessed many of his choices fail at the polls. LTF had also supported candidates believed to be strong contenders, only to see them bested by Democrats.
LTF, however, viewed the general election differently. The organization commented that it prioritizes funding for primaries, arguing that financial support in these contests helps candidates build visibility and establish AI policy plans.
LTF allocated $27.38 million during the primary elections, including $8 million against New York Assembly member Alex Bores, who failed in his congressional run last June. In determining whether to invest in a general election, LTF weighs factors such as the competitiveness of the race and the potential impact of their spending versus conserving funds for future endeavors.
Charlie Blaettler, the political director of Guardrails Alliance, offered a different perspective regarding LTF’s minimal spending in the general elections.
“They are likely cautious about their financial influence becoming a focal point during the elections,” he noted, referencing a Michigan Senate primary where the pro-Israel PAC AIPAC invested nearly $30 million to support Democratic candidate Haley Stevens, who later conceded to Abdul El-Sayed, the eventual winner.
“AIPAC overshadowed that race,” Blaettler remarked. “There is significant public mistrust towards AI billionaires and their political financial involvement. If they engage in close races, they risk becoming a significant liability for their chosen candidates.”
The core debate among AI-related PACs revolves around whether Congress should create a national framework for AI that would supersede state laws or if individual states should continue to impose their own regulatory measures.
Neither faction appears willing to back down. LTF, advocating for a unified national framework, announced plans to maintain its financial activity during the 2028 elections, while Guardrails Alliance intends to persist in opposing candidates associated with the AI sector.
Blaettler pointed out that while LTF’s messaging rarely addresses AI directly, focusing instead on more popular issues for individual candidates, Guardrails Alliance’s campaigns specifically target those accepting funds from AI interests.
“Our aim is to create political toxicity around AI funding,” Blaettler concluded.
