Leading the Future, the largest network of super PACs advocating for artificial intelligence interests, concluded the midterm elections with more than $20 million remaining in its accounts and a list of dozens of winning congressional candidates from both parties. Yet the pro-AI super PAC midterms effort did not deliver the decisive influence its $100 million war chest might have suggested, as the group concentrated its spending on safe races and came up short in the few competitive contests it entered.
A Well-Funded Entrance
When Leading the Future launched in August 2025, it promised to fight policies that hinder innovation. Its funding came from prominent Silicon Valley billionaires, including Andreessen Horowitz, Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale, and OpenAI’s Greg Brockman. The network was structured as an ecosystem of 501(c)(4) organizations and federal and state super PACs, with American Mission directing money to Republicans and Think Big supporting Democrats. Its design and roster of strategists drew comparisons to Fairshake, the pro-crypto super PAC network that played a major role in 2024.
Sacha Haworth, executive director of the Tech Oversight Project, said the group entered politics with a threatening posture, warning lawmakers that it would spend millions to influence legislation and to target candidates in primaries and general elections. According to Haworth, the aim was to pressure legislators into avoiding action on AI safety or tech regulation. Leading the Future did not respond to requests for comment.
Primary Spending and the Bores Race
Leading the Future directed roughly $26 million in independent expenditures toward the primaries. One of its most visible targets was Democrat Alex Bores, a former Palantir engineer and New York state lawmaker running in the 12th congressional district on an AI safety platform. The network spent millions on attack ads against his primary bid, but the contest became a proxy battle between competing AI philosophies and raised Bores’ profile. Public First, an AI safety network with significant backing from Anthropic, spent $15 million supporting Bores. He ultimately finished second in a crowded field to Micah Lasher, who also campaigned on tech accountability and AI safety.
After the primaries, the network’s spending slowed. It put about $10 million into the general election, mostly backing candidates in safe seats, and reported no donations in the second and third quarters. The shift coincided with polling that showed public distrust of Big Tech and Washington cronyism. An NBC exit poll found that 56 percent of voters said AI and data centers played a major role in their vote.
Safe Seats and Risky Bets
Haworth described the safe-seat strategy as an influence play aimed at building relationships with incoming members of Congress. Brad Carson, cofounder of Public First Action, called the midterms a victory for AI safety, saying voters from both parties had rejected the industry’s anti-regulatory push to shape Congress.
The riskier races produced less favorable results. In South Carolina, American Mission donated more than $2 million to Darline Graham, the sister of the late senator Lindsey Graham and an incumbent seeking a full term. Her Democratic opponent, Annie Andrews, nicknamed her “Data Center Darline” over her support for AI and data center expansion. Graham lost with 46.5 percent of the vote in a state that last elected a Democratic senator in 1998.
In toss-up House races, Leading the Future mostly supported Republicans through American Mission. The exception was Florida Democratic representative Jared Moskowitz, whose reelection Think Big funded; he won by 13,000 votes over former Boca Raton mayor Scott Singer.
In North Carolina’s 1st congressional district, American Mission backed Republican Laurie Buckhout, a retired Army colonel and former assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy under President Donald Trump in 2025. Guardrails Alliance, another AI safety group, backed Democrat Don Davis, who had cosponsored a bill to limit tax incentives for data center development. Davis won.
Leading the Future also backed Aaron Flint, a retired combat veteran and conservative commentator, in Montana’s 1st congressional district. Flint conceded to Democrat Sam Forstag, a wildland firefighter endorsed by progressives including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who advocated strict federal oversight of AI. The Associated Press had not called the race.
American Mission Florida, a state-level super PAC in the network, provided $3 million to Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds. Donalds and opponent David Jolly differed sharply on data center expansion, with Donalds opposing statewide bans or moratoriums.
Looking Ahead
After the results, Silicon Valley faces what is expected to be a reckoning over its influence during Trump’s second term. Democrats have promised to bring Big Tech executives to Capitol Hill for hearings. Senator Ron Wyden offered a preview in a brief post on X: “Subpoenas.”
