AI PACs spent $4.8M+ on midterms with mixed results
Original: AI PACs spent millions trying to shape Congress — here’s how they fared
Why This Matters
AI industry political spending is scaling fast, testing its ability to shape tech regulation.
AI-aligned PACs American Mission and Building the Future spent $4.8M backing South Carolina Senate candidate Darline Graham, who lost. Pro-safeguard groups also saw uneven outcomes across Tuesday's midterm elections.
Political money tied to the AI industry flowed heavily into Tuesday's midterm elections — and largely failed to pick winners. American Mission and Building the Future, two PACs aligned with the industry, collectively spent $4.8 million backing South Carolina Senate candidate Darline Graham, who lost. American Mission is the Republican spending arm of Leading the Future (LTF), a group backed by OpenAI president Greg Brockman and Andreessen Horowitz. The PAC also spent over $500,000 each supporting Montana's Aaron Flint and North Carolina's Laurie Buckhout — both lost. LTF's Democratic arm, Think Big, had better luck with Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who won reelection.
On the other side, Anthropic-backed Public First saw its Republican-backed candidates lose but found success with Democrats, including contributing $3 million toward a PAC supporting California state Sen. Scott Wiener. Guardrails Alliance — which frames AI industry donations as a political liability — spent over $1 million opposing both Gomez and Flint, who both lost, and $300,000 backing Angela Gonzales-Torres, who defeated Gomez.
Separating AI-specific spending from the broader Democratic wave is tricky. Elon Musk reportedly put $500 million behind Republicans and also saw heavy losses. LTF told TechCrunch that primaries, not generals, are its preferred battlefield — it spent $27.38 million there, including $8 million opposing New York's Alex Bores in June.