Follow the money
AI companies and investors entered electoral politics in 2025 through rival super PAC networks. This page shows what those PACs spend for and against federal candidates, who funds the PACs, where the funding trail goes dark, and what AI-company employees and PACs give to sitting members. Each number comes from an FEC filing.
Data as of: super PAC spending Sep 11, 2026 · PAC funders Sep 9, 2026 · electioneering Sep 11, 2026 · contributions Sep 9, 2026 (incomplete). What changed
$52.5M
Independent expenditures by the listed AI super PACs, 2026 cycle
45
Candidates targeted, for or against
19
of them members of the 119th Congress
Totals are FEC’s own per-candidate aggregation of Schedule E, which reconciles 24/48-hour notices with the periodic reports that restate them. Latest itemized expenditure dated Aug 31, 2026.
When the money moved
Cumulative 24/48-hour notices by week. Notices are the dated filings; the periodic reports restate them later, so the line is built from notices alone and omits items below the notice threshold.
Leading the Future
33 candidatesBacks candidates who favour a single federal AI framework that pre-empts state rules.
$17.1M
spent supporting
$8.1M
spent opposing
Who funds it
- A16z Capital Management LLC$50.0M
- Horowitz, Benjamin · Andreessen Horowitz$25.0M
- Andreessen, Marc L. · Andreessen Horowitz$25.0M
- Brockman, Greg · Openai$12.5M
- Brockman, Anna$12.5M
- Summit Ridge Media Group LLC$1.1M
$127.7M itemized receipts from outside the network on the PACs' own filings, plus $40.0M transferred between the network's own committees.
The super PAC's donors are itemized on its own FEC Schedule A, so the funders above can be checked against filings. Its affiliated nonprofit, Build American AI, does not disclose donors.
Committees: LEADING THE FUTURE, THINK BIG, AMERICAN MISSION. Evidence ↗ · reviewed Sep 8, 2026
Public First
15 candidatesBacks candidates who favour stronger federal AI safety rules.
$26.2M
spent supporting
$795K
spent opposing
Who funds it
- Public First Action INC$23.3M
- Public First$4.3M
- Elevate America$1.1M
- Bryson Gillette, LLC$1.0M
- Daniel, Ziegler Z · Anthropic PBC$550K
- Donavan, Liam · Self Employed$250K
$32.0M itemized receipts from outside the network on the PACs' own filings.
Jobs and Democracy and Defending Our Values are funded mainly by Public First Action, a 501(c)(4) that does not disclose its donors. Anthropic's gift is known because Anthropic announced it, not from a filing; the PAC says that money is restricted to public education. Dream NYC is the exception: its $2.8M is itemized on its own Schedule A, so the AI-lab money in it is checkable by name — except its largest single source, an entity called Elevate America ($1.15M), which is not the Michigan super PAC of that name and about which the record says nothing.
Committees: JOBS AND DEMOCRACY PAC, DEFENDING OUR VALUES PAC, DREAM NYC. Evidence ↗ · reviewed Sep 9, 2026
Guardrails Alliance
1 candidateBacks candidates who favour stronger AI rules; formed to counter Leading the Future.
$285K
spent supporting
$0
spent opposing
Who funds it
- Ceron Uribe, Juan Felipe · Openai$200K
- Mavrides, Dylan · Jane Street Capital$100K
- Eliosoff, Jacob · Calibrated Markets LLC$100K
- O'Farrell, John L. · Not Employed$50K
- West, Benjamin · Trajectory Labs PBC$50K
- Aft Solidarity 527$50K
$718K itemized receipts from outside the network on the PACs' own filings.
The super PAC's donors are itemized on its own FEC Schedule A, so the funders above can be checked against filings.
Committees: GUARDRAILS ALLIANCE. Evidence ↗ · reviewed Sep 9, 2026
Raised, and where it went
Left: who gave, from each PAC's own receipts. Right: what the FEC ties to a candidate (ads for or against, Schedule E), spending it does not (staff, polling, ads naming no candidate), and cash still on hand. Transfers between a network's own committees are netted out, so a dollar is counted once.
Leading the Future
$127.7M itemized on the PACs' own receipts. $25.2M has gone to ads for or against candidates. Through Jul 31, 2026, the last periodic report, $12.0M went to spending the FEC does not tie to a candidate and $40.5M was unspent. $50.0M came in after that report and is not yet reported as spent or held.
Public First
$32.0M itemized on the PACs' own receipts. $27.0M has gone to ads for or against candidates. Through Aug 31, 2026, the last periodic report, $3.0M went to spending the FEC does not tie to a candidate and $2.0M was unspent.
Guardrails Alliance
$718K itemized on the PACs' own receipts. $285K has gone to ads for or against candidates. Through Jun 30, 2026, the last periodic report, $59K went to spending the FEC does not tie to a candidate and $397K was unspent. $24K of the outflow is covered by receipts too small to be itemized or by earlier periods.
For and against, by candidate
Spending for a candidate to the right, against to the left, colour by network. Top 15 by money at stake.
| Candidate | Race | For | Against | By |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alexander BoresDemocrat on AI, in their own words | NY-12 | $17.8M | $8.1M | Public First, Leading the Future, Guardrails Alliance |
Valerie FousheeDemocrat sitting representative | NC-4 | $1.6M | — | Public First |
Carlos Jr. De La CruzRepublican on AI, in their own words | TX-35 | $1.5M | — | Public First |
Jesse L. Jr JacksonDemocrat campaign site says nothing on AI | IL-2 | $1.4M | —$1.0M withdrawn | Leading the Future, Public First |
Kevin HernRepublican sitting representative | OK Senate | $1.3M | — | Public First, Leading the Future |
Ben McadamsDemocrat on AI, in their own words | UT-1 | $1.1M | — | Leading the Future |
Ritchie TorresDemocrat sitting representative | NY-15 | $1.1M | — | Leading the Future |
Celeste MaloyRepublican sitting representative | UT-3 | $999K | — | Public First |
James Morris KingstonRepublican | GA-1 | $960K | — | Leading the Future |
Rhett MarquesRepublican | AL-2 | $813K | — | Public First |
Amanda MckinneyRepublican | WA-4 | $779K | — | Leading the Future |
Chris GoberRepublican | TX-10 | $748K | — | Leading the Future |
Scott M. SingerRepublican | FL-25 | $746K | — | Public First |
Daniel John FranzeseRepublican | FL-25 | — | $697K | Public First |
Clay FullerRepublican sitting representative | GA-14 | $687K | — | Leading the Future |
Garland BarrRepublican sitting representative | KY Senate | $676K | — | Leading the Future |
Julia LetlowRepublican sitting representative | LA Senate | $667K | — | Leading the Future |
Alexandra MealerRepublican | TX-9 | $646K | — | Public First |
Robert MenendezDemocrat sitting representative | NJ-8 | $638K | — | Leading the Future |
Thomas James FeelyRepublican | AZ-1 | $616K | — | Leading the Future |
Jimmy PanettaDemocrat sitting representative | CA-19 | $599K | — | Leading the Future |
Aaron FlintRepublican | MT-1 | $590K | — | Leading the Future |
Tom SellRepublican | TX-19 | $579K | — | Leading the Future |
Joseph MorelleDemocrat sitting representative | NY-25 | $572K | — | Leading the Future |
Brian PoindexterDemocrat | OH-7 | $570K | — | Public First |
Jessica Hart SteinmannRepublican | TX-8 | $511K | — | Leading the Future |
Laurie BuckhoutRepublican | NC-1 | $509K | — | Leading the Future |
John CowanRepublican | GA-11 | $502K | — | Public First |
Lindsey GrahamRepublican former member | SC Senate | $374K | — | Leading the Future |
Harriet HagemanRepublican sitting representative | WY Senate | $333K | — | Leading the Future |
Barry MooreRepublican sitting representative | AL Senate | $330K | — | Leading the Future |
Jeremy MossDemocrat | MI-11 | $295K | — | Leading the Future |
Valerie HoyleDemocrat sitting representative | OR-4 | $292K | — | Leading the Future |
Yvette ClarkeDemocrat sitting representative | NY-9 | $290K | — | Leading the Future |
Marilyn StricklandDemocrat sitting representative | WA-10 | $288K | — | Leading the Future |
Johnny GarrettRepublican | TN-6 | $288K | — | Leading the Future |
Kurt AlmeRepublican | MT Senate | $286K | — | Leading the Future |
Greg StantonDemocrat sitting representative | AZ-4 | $265K | — | Leading the Future |
Pete RickettsRepublican sitting senator | NE Senate | $263K | — | Public First |
Houston GainesRepublican | GA-10 | $262K | — | Leading the Future |
Jay ObernolteRepublican sitting representative | CA-23 | $260K | — | Leading the Future |
Bob BrooksDemocrat | PA-7 | $250K | — | Public First |
Jace YarbroughRepublican | TX-32 | $129K | — | Leading the Future |
Chris McgowanRepublican | IA-4 | $104K | — | Leading the Future |
Briscoe Rowell Iii CainRepublican | TX-9 | — | $98K | Public First |
Each candidate page lists the filings behind these totals. 841 itemized rows in outside_spending.json. Other super PACs spend in these races; 36 reviewed as not AI-industry money are listed with what they are in excluded_committees.json.
Electioneering ads by the networks' nonprofits
Most of the money on the AI side of the 2026 cycle sits in 501(c)(4) nonprofits that file no Schedule E. The one thing they must report is a broadcast ad naming a candidate inside 60 days of the general election or 30 days of a primary (FEC Form 9). The general-election window opened on Sep 4, 2026.
$105K across 1 filings.
| Filer | Candidate named | Date | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public First Action INC. · Public First | Budzinski, Nikki | Mar 5, 2026 | $105Kfiling ↗ |
Contributions to sitting members
Itemized receipts where the contributor works for an AI company or investor, or the contributor is a company PAC. Personal gifts by employees are not company money; the member page separates the two.
Ro Khanna
DemocratCA$265K
2Mark Warner
DemocratVA$251K
3Jon Ossoff
DemocratGA$215K
4Adam Smith
DemocratWA$179K
5Mike Rounds
RepublicanSD$163K
6Brett Guthrie
RepublicanKY$125K
7Ted Lieu
DemocratCA$98K
8Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
DemocratNY$95K
9Raja Krishnamoorthi
DemocratIL$92K
10Tom Emmer
RepublicanMN$88K
11Angie Craig
DemocratMN$86K
12Zoe Lofgren
DemocratCA$85K
13Pete Ricketts
RepublicanNE$84K
14Tom Cotton
RepublicanAR$83K
15John Reed
DemocratRI$78K
16Suzan DelBene
DemocratWA$78K
17Shelley Capito
RepublicanWV$75K
18Dan Sullivan
RepublicanAK$74K
19Jay Obernolte
RepublicanCA$74K
20Cory Booker
DemocratNJ$73K
▸Citing this page
The headline figure is $52.5M.
The headline is the sum of FEC's per-candidate, per-committee aggregates for the committees listed in super_pacs.json, 2026 cycle. It is spending by those committees, not all AI-related political money: nonprofits in the same networks file no Schedule E.
Primary source: FEC Schedule E filings via OpenFEC. The rows behind this page are outside_spending_totals.json, read 2026-09-11; the manifest carries the commit and checksums.
- Do not add outside_spending.json rows to reproduce the total: 24/48-hour notices are restated on later periodic reports.
- Totals are to the cent in the data; the page rounds.
- Contributions to members are a separate table (donations.json) and a separate kind of money; do not add the two.
- A candidate absent from the table has no reported spending by the listed committees, which is not the same as no AI money in the race.
Suggested wording: “according to FEC Schedule E filings via OpenFEC, compiled by WhoVotedWhy as of 2026-09-11”. Cite the filing or roll call for the event and this site for the selection and totals.
Something wrong? Report an error with the row id; corrections are logged in overrides.json.