AI Companies Pour $37M Into Congressional Races Via Super PACs

AI industry emerges as major political force in 2026 midterms

Two rival networks of super PACs backed by leading artificial intelligence companies have spent more than $37 million on congressional races in the 2026 election cycle, making them among the largest outside spenders in races across the country, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.

One network is linked to Anthropic, maker of the Claude AI assistant. The other connects to OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. The groups have flooded airwaves with advertisements supporting candidates in both parties, from rural Montana to Manhattan, often outspending the candidates themselves.

The spending reflects a fundamental disagreement between the two AI giants over how the technology should be regulated. OpenAI advocates for federal-only regulation, while Anthropic supports more stringent oversight and backs state-level laws like those passed in California and New York.

How the money flows

The OpenAI-linked network has received $25 million from co-founder Greg Brockman and his wife Anna, plus $100 million tied to a venture capital firm with a major OpenAI stake. OpenAI's global policy chief reportedly helped conceive the effort.

Anthropic has directly contributed $20 million to its affiliated super PAC network, with additional funds from undisclosed donors — what campaign finance experts call "dark money."

In Montana's Republican congressional primary, a super PAC backed by OpenAI's co-founder spent $877,000 supporting a candidate who won by 30 points. "There was no way as a grassroots person that I could compete with that kind of money," said defeated candidate Al Olszewski. "I got crushed."

Manhattan becomes ground zero

The starkest clash is playing out in Manhattan's Democratic primary to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler. Both networks have each spent more than $7.5 million targeting or supporting New York State Assemblymember Alex Bores.

Bores sponsored New York's RAISE Act, which requires major AI companies to disclose safety protocols and report incidents. The law, signed in December 2025, has made him a focal point in the AI regulation debate.

OpenAI-backed ads attack Bores over past support from convicted crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried's super PAC. Anthropic-backed ads praise him for writing "real safeguards on AI" and holding "big tech accountable."

Why it matters

The AI industry's aggressive political spending marks a departure from how tech companies traditionally engaged with policy. "For a long time, the tech industry lobbying strategy was just 'leave us alone,'" said Adam Kovacevich, a former Google public policy executive who now runs tech trade group Chamber of Progress.

The stakes are substantial. Earlier this month, the Trump administration banned foreign nationals from using Anthropic's most powerful AI model, forcing the company to restrict access for all users. With AI policy "far from settled," according to former Biden White House AI official Asad Ramzanali, these companies are following the cryptocurrency industry's playbook of building political power before regulations solidify.

The super PACs use generic names like Jobs and Democracy PAC and American Mission, with advertisements so bland they could have been written by AI themselves. Most avoid mentioning artificial intelligence directly, instead focusing on standard political messaging about jobs, values, and party loyalty.

The details were first reported by Ben Wieder of the Los Angeles Times.