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Silicon Valley’s AI-linked super PACs are spending tens of millions of dollars in the 2026 midterms, yet their commercials usually avoid saying “artificial intelligence.” Instead, they talk about inflation, taxes, immigration, jobs and small businesses. The reason is strategic: AI has become politically hazardous, but the officials elected by these campaigns will still decide how the technology is regulated, permitted and funded.

The short answer: AI is the policy goal, not the campaign message

Voters increasingly associate AI with job losses, surveillance, manipulation, unsafe systems and massive data centers. Naming the technology can therefore trigger opposition before an ad reaches its intended economic or cultural argument. Groups aligned with the industry are using familiar issues to support candidates who may later shape national AI rules, enforcement, permitting and infrastructure policy.

The spending is substantial. A New York Times analysis cited by Fast Company in October 2026 estimated that AI-aligned political groups had directed between $55.7 million and $60 million into federal midterm advertising and voter outreach. That figure describes activity in the 2026 cycle, not a permanent annual budget and not necessarily money spent by AI companies themselves.

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What the two main networks want

Comparison Leading the Future network Public First network
Regulatory preference Rapid development and lighter national regulation, while publicly calling for a national framework Stronger AI safety, accountability and regulatory requirements
Principal financial support disclosed Venture-capital money and personal contributions from Greg and Anna Brockman; Andreessen Horowitz accounted for roughly two-thirds of $75.1 million tracked in 2026 Anthropic disclosed a $20 million contribution to Public First Action for public-education activity; the broader donor mix is not fully stated
Party reach Both parties through Think Big PAC and American Mission PAC Candidates associated with stronger safety and accountability rules; the network is positioned as a counterforce to pro-development groups
Spending structure Leading the Future and affiliated political committees, including transfers to Think Big PAC and American Mission PAC Public First Action and Public First PAC, with a transfer to Jobs and Democracy PAC
Message strategy Economic and cultural themes rather than explicit AI policy in most advertising Public education and arguments for accountability; individual ad themes vary by race
Transparency questions Personal-capacity disclaimers for the Brockmans and an unresolved complaint about vendor payments through Nevada companies Publicly disclosed Anthropic contribution; other financing and organizational details are less complete in the cited reporting

Leading the Future and its affiliates

Leading the Future is the pro-development network. Reporting describes it as favoring fast AI deployment and limited regulation. Its spokesperson Jesse Hunt said in July 2026 that “Our resources will allow us to continue building a deep bench of pro-innovation champions.” The network operates across party lines: Think Big PAC supports Democrats, while American Mission PAC supports Republicans.

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Public Citizen tracking put Leading the Future’s fundraising at $75.1 million in 2026. Approximately two-thirds was attributed to Andreessen Horowitz. Greg Brockman and Anna Brockman separately contributed $50 million in 2025, split between Leading the Future and MAGA Inc. Those are personal political contributions, not corporate donations from OpenAI.

Leading the Future ended the second quarter of 2026 with $31 million, according to a Federal Election Commission filing reported by Axios. It had transferred $20 million to affiliated groups, including $10 million each to Think Big PAC and American Mission PAC. Money raised, money held and money spent are different measures; the $75.1 million fundraising figure should not be read as the amount already spent on advertising.

Public First and Public First Action

Public First was launched as a rival safety-and-regulation network. Public First co-founder Brad Carson described it as “the anti-super PAC super PAC,” and Washington Post reporting characterized the group as opposing a Silicon Valley operation that openly threatens candidates who support regulation.

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Anthropic announced a $20 million contribution to Public First Action in 2026 for public-education work. Axios also reported that Public First PAC raised about $3.4 million during the quarter and transferred $3.3 million to Jobs and Democracy PAC. A contribution for public education does not, by itself, establish that Anthropic purchased a particular political advertisement or directed a candidate campaign.

Why mentioning AI can hurt an advertisement

Polling shows a liability, not a consensus

A March 2026 Quinnipiac University survey found that 55% of Americans thought 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. An ad that leads with “AI” can therefore activate distrust about employment, safety and corporate power before it explains the sponsor’s preferred policy.

Proxy issues reach voters more effectively

Campaigns have limited time to persuade people who may not follow technical debates. Inflation, taxes, immigration, jobs and small-business conditions are familiar categories with existing voter coalitions. A group can use those subjects to elect an official who will later vote on AI liability, data-center permits, energy demand, federal standards and agency enforcement without asking the voter to endorse a complicated technology platform.

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Television makes failed messages expensive

Fast Company reports that Federal Communications Commission rules require stations to charge super PACs undiscounted rates. Candidate campaigns receive the lowest-unit-rate discount, while outside groups can pay as much as five times more for a comparable slot. When every placement costs more, sponsors have a strong incentive to use broad, high-resonance themes instead of an explicit AI message that could provoke resistance or require lengthy explanation.

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Cross-party networks need adaptable language

Leading the Future’s affiliated committees support candidates from both major parties. A single, detailed AI platform would fit poorly across districts with different economic and cultural priorities. General language about growth, jobs or government overreach travels more easily while the network preserves flexibility on the underlying technology agenda.

Are OpenAI and Anthropic directly paying for political ads?

OpenAI’s stated 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 acted in their personal capacities, that OpenAI does not direct Leading the Future, and that “No outside political group speaks for OpenAI or represents our company’s views.” OpenAI separately says it supports thoughtful regulation, rigorous testing, strong safety standards and public accountability.

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That statement describes company policy; it does not provide complete visibility into every employee’s personal political activity. It does establish that Leading the Future is not an OpenAI political committee and should not be presented as speaking for the company.

Anthropic’s disclosed contribution

Anthropic publicly announced the $20 million contribution to Public First Action for public education. The available reporting does not show that Anthropic controlled Public First’s candidate endorsements, selected individual commercials or operated a company-funded super PAC. It does show a direct, disclosed financial relationship with the safety-oriented network.

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How super PAC rules enable the spending

The FEC says committees that make only independent expenditures may solicit and accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor organizations and other political committees. The agency also lists restrictions involving foreign nationals, federal contractors, national banks and federally chartered corporations. Independent expenditure committees cannot coordinate their spending with candidates, even though they may spend large sums to influence the same elections.

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Affiliates and transfers can make the flow of money harder to understand. Leading the Future’s transfers to Think Big PAC and American Mission PAC illustrate how one fundraising operation can support separate committees aimed at different party electorates.

What is known—and not decided—about transparency

WIRED reported that 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 FEC complaint is not an adjudicated violation.

Campaign-finance reform advocate Saurav Ghosh told the Washington Post, “The loser in all of that is the typical everyday American voter who obviously doesn’t have a voice in that discussion because they don’t have $20 million.” His point captures the democratic concern: voters see ordinary issue advertising while wealthy donors and affiliated committees pursue the officials who will write the technical rules.

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How to read an ad that never says “AI”

  • Identify the sponsor. Check the disclaimer for the committee paying for the spot, rather than assuming an ad comes from a technology company.
  • Separate the stated issue from the policy consequence. A jobs or energy ad may still affect votes on automation, data centers or AI permits.
  • Look for affiliated committees. Transfers can connect a national fundraising operation to a state or district-level campaign.
  • Distinguish fundraising from spending. A committee’s receipts or cash balance do not prove that the same amount has already been used for advertising.
  • Treat unresolved complaints as allegations. FEC investigations and complaints can raise legitimate questions without establishing that a law was broken.

The absence of the word “AI” is therefore deliberate message discipline, not evidence that the technology is irrelevant. The campaigns are trying to win the regulatory decisions while keeping the technology itself out of the opening argument.

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