Key facts
- American Mission and Building the Future spent $4.8 million backing Darlene Graham, who lost, per TechCrunch.
- American Mission spent more than $500,000 apiece on Aaron Flint and Laurie Buckhout, both of whom lost.
- Guardrails Alliance spent more than $1 million apiece opposing Jimmy Gomez and Aaron Flint, both of whom lost.
- Guardrails Alliance spent $300,000 supporting Angela Gonzales-Torres, who defeated Gomez, per TechCrunch.
- LTF spent $27.38 million in the primaries, including $8 million opposing Alex Bores, who lost in June.
- Public First contributed $3 million to a PAC supporting California state Sen. Scott Wiener, who was leading at publication.
Political groups supporting and opposing the AI industry spent millions of dollars trying to influence Tuesday's midterm elections and shape the future of AI regulation, TechCrunch reported on November 4, 2026. The spending produced mixed results, with some of the most heavily backed candidates losing their races.
On the industry side, two AI-focused political action committees, American Mission and Building the Future, collectively spent $4.8 million to back South Carolina Senate candidate Darlene Graham, who lost. American Mission is the Republican spending arm of Leading the Future, a broader political group backed by OpenAI President Greg Brockman and the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
American Mission also spent more than $500,000 apiece supporting Republican House candidates Aaron Flint in Montana and Laurie Buckhout in North Carolina, both of whom lost. LTF's Democratic spending arm, Think Big, backed Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who won reelection.
Public First, which is backed by Anthropic, supported several Republicans who lost through its affiliated PAC but had more success backing Democratic candidates, according to TechCrunch. It also contributed $3 million to a PAC supporting California state Sen. Scott Wiener, who was leading his race at the time of publication.
Guardrails Alliance, a group that has sought to make taking money from AI companies a political liability, spent more than $1 million apiece opposing two candidates who lost, California Rep. Jimmy Gomez and Montana's Flint. It also spent $300,000 supporting Angela Gonzales-Torres, who defeated Gomez.
TechCrunch said it is difficult to separate the impact of AI-related spending from the broader Democratic wave in Tuesday's elections. Elon Musk, who reportedly poured half a billion dollars into supporting Republicans in the midterms, also saw many of his candidates lose, the report said.
LTF told TechCrunch ahead of Election Day that it thinks primaries are a more effective use of its money. LTF spent $27.38 million in the primaries, including $8 million alone on opposing New York Assembly member Alex Bores, who lost his bid for Congress in June.
Charlie Blaettler, political director of Guardrails Alliance, said LTF spent comparatively little in the general election because "they don't want their money to become an issue in these elections." He pointed to the Michigan Senate primary, in which AIPAC spent close to $30 million backing Haley Stevens against Abdul El-Sayed, who won the primary and the Senate seat. "Our goal is to make AI money politically toxic," Blaettler said.