AI groups spent $15 million on US congressional elections — CNBC
In the United States, political groups linked to the artificial intelligence industry spent nearly $15 million on general election races for Congress. Supporters of faster AI development and less stringent uniform rules spent about $8 million, while groups advocating stronger safeguards and broader state powers spent about $6.9 million, CNBC reports, citing Federal Election Commission filings as of October 20.
Confrontation within the industry
In Florida’s 25th district, Democrat Jared Moskowitz and Republican Scott Singer were backed by political organizations with opposing approaches to AI regulation. During the primaries, Think Big, a committee affiliated with the Leading the Future network, spent $310,000 supporting Moskowitz. At the same time, the Defending Our Values super PAC, which advocates stricter AI safety rules and a greater role for states, spent nearly $857,000 supporting Singer and another $740,000 opposing one of his primary opponents.
Leading the Future was created in August 2025 with more than $100 million in pledged commitments from representatives of the technology sector. They include Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI President Greg Brockman and his wife Anna, as well as Perplexity and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. The network used the Democratic committee Think Big and the Republican American Mission to support candidates who favor faster AI deployment and oppose differing rules across states.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Most spending went to primaries
The most notable clash took place in the Democratic primary in New York’s 12th district. Think Big spent $8.3 million trying to prevent the election of state Assembly member Alex Bores, the author of significant state AI safety rules. The Anthropic-backed Jobs and Democracy committee spent about $15 million supporting Bores. Despite this, Bores lost to Micah Lasher by a margin of 35% to 39%.
According to CNBC’s calculations, the Leading the Future network reported approximately $26 million in independent expenditures in primaries and about $8 million in general elections. Groups focused on strengthening safeguards spent $32.1 million in primaries and $6.9 million on general election races. Overall, about 74% of the approximately $78.5 million spent by these organizations on federal candidates in the current cycle went to primaries.
A CNBC All-America Economic Survey found that 52% of registered voters believe companies should pause the development of advanced AI until Congress passes relevant rules. Thirty-two percent of respondents favored continuing development without such a pause. Another 63% said they would oppose the construction of an AI data center within 10 miles of their homes.
