Political risk / Jun 22, 2026 / 6 min
AI Super PACs Have Already Spent $43.3 Million on Congress
OpenSecrets data shows AI-linked super PACs have already poured $43.3 million into 2026 congressional races — while federal AI legislation remains stalled and OpenAI and Anthropic wage a proxy war in tomorrow's New York primary.
AI-linked super PACs have spent $43.3 million on congressional races this cycle — before Congress has passed a single comprehensive federal AI law. OpenAI and Anthropic are not waiting for the rules. They are funding opposing armies to write them.
The money: OpenSecrets tallies $43.3 million in AI super PAC spending across 2026 congressional races, per NPR reporting published June 22. That is not abstract influence. It is a down payment on who gets a seat when Washington finally moves.
The proxy war:
- Leading the Future — backed by OpenAI president Greg Brockman, Andreessen Horowitz, and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale — has raised more than $75 million and spent $23.5 million through affiliates Think Big and American Mission.
- Public First — seeded by Anthropic's $20 million donation to a related nonprofit — has spent $16.6 million through Jobs and Democracy and Defending Our Values.
- The two networks are not allies. They are corporate rivals buying opposite futures.
The battlefield: New York's 12th District Democratic primary on June 23. Assemblyman Alex Bores, who co-sponsored the state's Responsible AI Safety and Education Act, has drawn more than $15 million in AI-backed spending for and against him — in a single Manhattan race.
Think Big PAC attack ads warn that laws like New York's RAISE Act would create a "chaotic patchwork of state rules that would crush innovation." Jobs and Democracy has spent $2.3 million defending Bores. Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen's You Can Push Back PAC has poured nearly $2 million more into his camp.
The stakes: Leading the Future wants a national AI framework that preempts the 38 state AI laws enacted in 2025. Public First opposes federal preemption without adequate safeguards. The fight is not about one junior congressman. It is about precedent.
As independent researcher Molly White told NPR: whichever PAC wins "will use those victories as sort of a threat towards other candidates" considering stricter regulation.
Congress is stalled — on purpose: Despite bipartisan agreement that AI needs governance, federal legislation has not advanced. Issue One's Michael Beckel told NPR this spending "helps shape who is at the table" when rules are eventually drafted.
The lobbying bill is separate and growing. OpenAI, Meta, Alphabet, and Nvidia spent a combined $50.9 million lobbying Congress in 2025. Anthropic quadrupled its lobbying to $1.56 million in Q1 2026. OpenAI nearly doubled to $1.02 million.
Why tomorrow matters: If Bores wins Tuesday, the pro-regulation camp proves that nine figures in attack ads cannot buy every seat. If he loses, OpenAI's network delivers the deterrent White described — regulation has a price tag, and Silicon Valley will pay it.
Either way, the public is not at the table. Nicole Alvarez of the Center for American Progress told NPR: "The real fight is what governance looks like."
Convina's view: This is not democracy catching up to technology. It is two trillion-dollar labs outsourcing their product strategy to dark-money PACs with names like Jobs and Democracy and Think Big — while Congress stalls and voters watch attack ads that barely mention AI. The industry learned from crypto's Fairshake playbook: spend nine figures, knock out skeptics, then write the rules. Anyone pricing AI governance risk should assume the loudest voice in the room will be whoever spent the most — not whoever was elected to represent constituents.