Key facts
- US political campaigns and committees have disclosed spending at least $17 million on AI technology vendors since 2020.
- At least 80 federal campaigns and committees have reported spending with OpenAI since 2024, totaling about $50,000.
- At least 65 candidates or committees reported paying Anthropic in 2026, with a nearly two-to-one Democrat-to-Republican ratio.
- AmplifAI, an AI text messaging vendor, received $4.7 million in campaign spending in the 2022 cycle.
- Daisychain, an AI-powered text messaging solution, has garnered about $300,000 in reported candidate spend in the 2026 cycle.
- Few candidates report spending on AI tools for synthetic audio and video, with only six federal candidates reporting spending on ElevenLabs and five on Midjourney.
New campaign finance disclosure data reveals that US political campaigns are increasingly utilizing artificial intelligence tools, with at least $17 million in disclosed spending on AI technology vendors since 2020. This spending spans federal candidates, parties, and committees, as well as state-level campaigns in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Washington.
OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has seen spending from at least 80 federal campaigns and committees since 2024, totaling approximately $50,000, with a slight skew towards Republican campaigns. The Republican National Committee is the largest buyer, with nearly $10,000 in expenses. Individual users include campaigns of Republicans Mike Lawler, John Kennedy, and Bill Cassidy, and Democrats Ro Khanna and Ted Lieu. These expenses are often listed as office expenses or subscriptions.
Anthropic, a competitor to OpenAI, has also seen significant adoption, with at least 65 candidates or committees reporting payments in 2026, a sharp increase from previous years, showing a nearly two-to-one Democrat-to-Republican ratio. However, the largest individual spender is Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who reported over $4,000 in spending on Anthropic software. The usage of Anthropic by Democrats may reflect perceptions of the company's alleged liberal skew.
Elon Musk's xAI has seen minimal usage, primarily from Republican interests, with about $5,000 spent by seven federal and two state-level candidates or committees. The presidential campaign of RFK Jr. accounted for the majority of this spending in 2024.
Specialized AI vendors for political campaigns are also seeing substantial investment. AmplifAI, which provides automated text messaging, garnered $4.7 million in spending in the 2022 cycle, heavily used by Democratic candidates. Daisychain, a newer AI-powered text messaging solution, has attracted about $300,000 in the 2026 cycle, with a significant portion from the Senate campaign of Democrat Abdul El-Sayed. On the Republican side, Campaign Nucleus, associated with Brad Parscale, has received six-figure spending from the Republican National Committee and various PACs, and five-figure investments from candidates like Mike Johnson and Kari Lake. Prompt.io, a legacy vendor, continues to see use, with one PAC spending over $1 million on it in 2026.
At the state level, AI spending is smaller but growing rapidly, with about $92,000 reported across four states since 2022. Daisychain, OpenAI, and Claude dominate general-purpose AI vendor spending, while DonorAtlas is notable for its use in prospect research. Spending on AI tools for synthetic audio and video, such as ElevenLabs and Midjourney, remains minimal among reported campaign expenditures.
However, the disclosed spending likely represents only a fraction of the total AI usage in campaigns. Recent data indicates that at least 164 political ads in the current cycle have included AI-generated media, supported by $80 million in ad spending. This suggests that much of the AI usage by political consultants, media firms, and PACs is not captured in candidate and committee disclosure reports.