Tech and Billionaire Spending Surges Ahead of 2026 US Midterm Elections

Jul 26, 2026

Ahead of the 2026 US midterm elections, AI- and tech-linked outside groups and super PACs have spent over $65 million. Separately, a report by California Common Good and People Over Billionaires said California's top 15 billionaires contributed more than $336 million to federal and California elections in 2026. Leading the Future's main super PAC raised just under $76 million, including $50 million from Andreessen Horowitz and $25 million from Greg Brockman and his wife, Anna. Public First Action said it had raised $80 million, including $40 million from Anthropic. Meta donated a combined $65 million to two state-focused political groups, but the sources do not show that the full amount had already been spent.

AI industry political spending

▪According to a report by California Common Good and People Over Billionaires cited by Capital & Main, California's top 15 billionaires contributed more than $336 million to federal and California elections in 2026.
▪The artificial intelligence industry has spent over $65 million ahead of the 2026 US midterm elections to influence the future of industry regulation.

Leading the Future super PAC

▪Leading the Future's main super PAC raised just under $76 million as of the end of June 2026, according to FEC filings.
▪Leading the Future redirected $20 million to its Democratic-focused super PAC, Think Big, and $20 million to its Republican-focused super PAC, American Mission.
▪Leading the Future received $50 million from Andreessen Horowitz and $25 million from OpenAI President Greg Brockman and his wife Anna.

Public First super PAC

▪Anthropic donated $40 million to Public First Action, doubling its initial $20 million donation from February 2026.
▪Public First Action's Democratic-focused Jobs and Democracy PAC spent over $15 million boosting Assemblyman Alex Bores in his unsuccessful primary campaign.
▪Public First Action, a political network backing candidates who support AI regulation, said in June 2026 that it had raised $80 million.

Meta state-level PACs

▪Meta donated $45 million to the American Technology Excellence Project, a 527 nonprofit focused on state-level races outside of California.
▪Meta donated $20 million in August 2025 to Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California, a PAC focused on California state-level races.

AI regulation policy debate

▪The Trump administration slowed the release of the latest frontier AI models from Anthropic and OpenAI, causing tensions within the industry.
▪New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a data center moratorium into law, reflecting growing state-level scrutiny of the AI industry.