Silicon Valley is it is already pouring tens of millions of dollars into mid-term elections across the US in 2026, as the tech industry’s battle over AI legislation seeps into American politics. Tech executives, investors, and companies tied to the AI boom are funding a new network of AI-focused super PACS, poised to make AI a major issue in this year’s state and gubernatorial election races.
The election spending represents a sharp escalation of the AI control debate that has divided Silicon Valley for years.
In the absence of government action, state lawmakers in New York, California, and Colorado have passed laws in the past year requiring major AI developers to disclose security practices and assess risks such as algorithmic discrimination. As states offer their own ideas on how to regulate AI, their efforts have been met with significant pushback from the White House. David Sacks, the White House AI czar, has repeatedly argued that America’s AI progress exists in its race against China. In December, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to challenge state AI laws that conflict with weak federal policy, and urged Congress to create a national AI framework that would preempt state laws.
This has set up decisive battle lines, where concerned lawmakers, AI researchers, security-focused startups, and non-profit groups are pushing to monitor advanced AI models on the one hand, while major Silicon Valley companies and investors on the other argue that aggressive state-level regulations could hinder AI progress.
Rather than seek to fight those efforts, the AI industry is launching a multibillion-dollar campaign to elect politicians who will be friendly to their cause. This new wave of political lobbying groups adds yet another layer of pressure on lawmakers pushing AI safety efforts forward.
Pro-AI PACs
The largest is Leading the Future, a super PAC funded with more than $100 million from business powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz, and OpenAI president Greg Brockman and his wife, Anna Brockman. While super PACs typically don’t make their strategies public, the political party has been unusually open about its policy of opposing candidates fighting for state-level AI regulation.
“We’re looking to advance a national regulatory framework for AI and avoid federalism,” Josh Vlasto, the leader of the super PAC, told WIRED. “That includes ensuring job creation and job creation, protecting children and communities, and winning the race against China. We will support those who can do that and oppose those who don’t.”
In December, the group launched its first television ads targeting specific congressional races.
One ad targeted New York state assemblyman Alex Bores, the originator of a recently signed law requiring major AI developers to report security testing practices. Bores is running in a hotly contested race to replace Representative Jerry Nadler in New York’s 12th congressional district. A television ad, Leading the Future announced and paid for by two PACs on its network, specifically addresses Bores’ position on AI, saying his legislation contributes to the “unification” of AI laws and saying “America needs one smart national policy that sets clear standards for safe AI.”
“Let’s be clear, these AI billions have one goal: unlimited power and unlimited profit for themselves,” Bores told WIRED, in response to the ad. “I stand in the way of that and encourage voters not to judge me by my enemies.”
Another ad sponsored by Leading the Future’s network of PACs supports Chris Gober, a former attorney who helped Elon Musk’s America PAC raise more than $170 million to support Trump’s 2024 re-election bid. Gober is campaigning for a seat in Texas’ 10th congressional district. The ad from Leading the Future, which has since been removed from YouTube, reportedly did not mention AI at all, instead calling Gober a true “Trump conservative” who will focus on “boosting America’s technology investments.”
