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Freedom251 › Blog › 2026 midterms

Why Silicon Valley’s AI Super PACs Aren’t Talking About AI

By Freedom251 Team · · 6 min read

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Silicon Valley’s AI-aligned super PACs are spending tens of millions of dollars in the 2026 midterms, yet their advertisements often avoid the words “artificial intelligence,” “algorithms” and even “technology policy.” Instead, they emphasize inflation, taxes, immigration, jobs and small business. The reason is strategic: polling shows many voters view AI skeptically, while the donors behind these groups still want to elect officials who will decide national AI rules, data-center permits, enforcement and safety requirements.

How much money is involved?

Fast Company, citing a New York Times analysis, reports that AI-linked political groups directed between $55.7 million and $60 million to federal midterm advertising and voter outreach in 2026. The totals are time-bound estimates for this election cycle, not a permanent annual budget.

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Leading the Future is the largest pro-development network identified in the reporting. Public Citizen tracking put its fundraising at $75.1 million in 2026, with about two-thirds attributed to venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Greg Brockman and Anna Brockman separately gave $50 million in 2025, divided between Leading the Future and MAGA Inc., according to campaign-finance reporting.

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A Federal Election Commission filing reported by Axios showed Leading the Future had $31 million at the end of the second quarter of 2026, after transferring $20 million to affiliated groups. That transfer included $10 million each for Think Big PAC and American Mission PAC.

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The opposing Public First network has a different funding profile. Anthropic announced a $20 million contribution in 2026 to Public First Action for public-education activity. Axios reported that Public First PAC raised about $3.4 million during the quarter and transferred $3.3 million to Jobs and Democracy PAC.

Why the ads avoid the word “AI”

Voters associate AI with risk

A March 2026 Quinnipiac University survey found that 55% of Americans believed AI would do more harm than good in daily life. More than 70% said businesses were not transparent enough about AI, and a slightly larger share said government was not regulating it enough. Those findings make “AI” a potentially negative cue in a campaign ad.

For many voters, the term evokes job displacement, surveillance, manipulation, unsafe systems and concentrated corporate power. Data-center construction can also bring local disputes over electricity, water and land use. A candidate backed by an AI-aligned group may therefore gain more from an ad about wages or small businesses than from one that openly advertises a position on model development.

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Policy influence does not require a policy label

The groups’ practical objective is to help elect officials who will shape AI regulation, permitting, enforcement and national standards. A message about taxes or jobs can influence that election without asking viewers to endorse a complicated position on algorithms.

Leading the Future spokesperson Jesse Hunt described the group’s aim as a “well-balanced, cross-partisan conversation” beginning with a national framework. The network’s public-facing messages can remain broad while its preferred officeholders later vote on highly specific AI bills.

Television time is unusually expensive for super PACs

FCC rules require super PACs to pay stations’ undiscounted rates. Candidate campaigns receive the lowest-unit-rate discount, while outside groups can pay as much as five times more for the same slot, according to Fast Company. When every commercial is expensive, a broad message about inflation or public safety is less risky than a specialized AI pitch that could alienate viewers.

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Cross-party networks need portable language

Leading the Future’s affiliates support both Democratic and Republican candidates. Think Big PAC works on the Democratic side, while American Mission PAC supports Republicans. Economic and cultural themes travel more easily across those districts than a single explicit AI platform, allowing one donor network to operate in both parties’ campaigns.

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The two main political networks

Comparison Leading the Future network Public First / Public First Action
Regulatory preference Rapid development, a national framework and lighter or more limited regulation Stronger safety, accountability and oversight requirements
Donor base Venture-capital money and personal contributions from Greg and Anna Brockman Anthropic-linked funding and donors associated with AI-safety and accountability efforts
Party reach Both parties through Think Big PAC and American Mission PAC Backs candidates identified with stronger AI safeguards; party reach varies by affiliate
Spending vehicles Leading the Future super-PAC network and transfers to affiliated committees Public First Action’s public-education activity, Public First PAC and transfers to Jobs and Democracy PAC
Message strategy Usually economic or cultural themes rather than explicit AI terminology Frames the campaign as a counterweight to pro-development groups and emphasizes accountability
Transparency issues Personal-capacity disclaimers for Brockman donations; vendor-payment allegations are contested Anthropic’s disclosed contribution; public-education and PAC activity reported separately

What each faction is trying to achieve

Leading the Future: pro-development politics

Reporting describes Leading the Future as favoring rapid AI development and lighter regulation. Its affiliates let the network support candidates from both parties, while its stated public goal is a national framework that does not shut down innovation. Hunt said the group’s resources would help it build “a deep bench of pro-innovation champions.”

That does not mean every supported candidate rejects all rules. The network’s position is better understood as opposition to regulations it considers broad, slow or hostile to development, rather than opposition to every safety standard.

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Public First: a safety-and-regulation counterforce

Public First was launched as a rival to Leading the Future and has supported candidates associated with stronger AI accountability and safety rules. Co-founder Brad Carson called it “the anti-super PAC super PAC.” The Washington Post described the network as responding to a Silicon Valley group that openly threatens candidates who favor regulation.

Its strategy still reflects campaign realities: it can discuss safety and accountability, but ads aimed at general-election voters may also use familiar economic language instead of technical descriptions of model testing or liability.

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Are OpenAI and Anthropic directly buying political ads?

OpenAI’s position

OpenAI said on June 1, 2026: “We have not made donations to any super PACs, and we do not have an employee-funded PAC.” The company said Greg and Anna Brockman’s support for Leading the Future was personal, that OpenAI does not direct the group, and that “No outside political group speaks for OpenAI or represents our company’s views.”

OpenAI separately said it supports thoughtful regulation, rigorous testing, strong safety standards and public accountability. Its statement describes company policy; it does not establish complete visibility into employees’ personal political activity.

Anthropic’s disclosed contribution

Anthropic publicly announced its $20 million contribution to Public First Action for public education. That is direct corporate funding of the organization’s activity, but the available reporting does not establish that Anthropic selected every ad, message or candidate. Public First PAC’s separate quarterly fundraising and transfer figures should not be treated as the same dollars as the announced contribution.

What is known about transparency and shell-company allegations?

Super PACs that make only independent expenditures may solicit and accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor organizations and other political committees, according to Federal Election Commission guidance. The rules still restrict money from foreign nationals, federal contractors, national banks and federally chartered corporations.

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The Campaign Legal Center filed an FEC complaint alleging that Think Big and American Mission used Nevada shell companies that “function as mere extensions of the super PACs they serve,” potentially obscuring the true recipients of payments. The complaint remains unresolved. Leading the Future says it complies with applicable law and characterizes the complaint as a publicity effort. An allegation in an unresolved filing is not an adjudicated violation.

What voters should look for in an ad

  • Read the disclaimer: identify the committee paying for the message, not just the candidate shown.
  • Separate the issue from the policy: an ad about jobs or immigration may be part of a strategy aimed at future AI votes.
  • Check the spending vehicle: a super PAC, a 501(c)(4) public-education group and an affiliate transfer have different disclosure practices.
  • Distinguish corporate money from personal money: a founder’s contribution does not automatically represent the company’s position.
  • Treat unresolved complaints cautiously: campaign-finance allegations can raise legitimate transparency questions without proving a legal violation.

The bottom line on the missing “AI”

The silence is deliberate, not evidence that the money has nothing to do with artificial intelligence. AI is the underlying policy interest, while inflation, taxes, immigration, jobs and small business are the voter-facing messengers. By avoiding a term associated with risk and corporate power, the groups can buy cheaper, broader-reach advertising and support candidates who will later decide how aggressively the government regulates the technology.

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2026 midtermsAI RegulationArtificial IntelligenceCampaign FinancepoliticsSuper PACs

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