Senator Bernie Sanders said the AI industry plans to spend more than $300 million this election cycle and called for a ban on super PACs, arguing the money is being used to shape Congress. The remarks land as AI-linked groups have already raised or pledged hundreds of millions of dollars for the November midterms, with Congress weighing several AI bills in the same window.
Sanders and Representative Greg Casar also announced the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, which would permanently prohibit superintelligent AI and halt advanced development until a regulator sets safety standards.
Where the money is going
The spending is concentrated in a handful of groups. Leading the Future said in April that it and associated organizations have raised over $140 million, with initial contributors including OpenAI President Greg Brockman and Anna Brockman, along with Andreessen Horowitz and Perplexity. Trump-aligned Innovation Council Action has pledged at least $100 million. Public First Action, which backs stronger AI safeguards, said it raised $80 million through June, with $20 million from Anthropic restricted to public education on AI policy.
Fairshake, the crypto super PAC, is now spending $30 million on ads against Sherrod Brown.
New York's 12th, the expensive test case
The clearest collision between the two camps played out in New York's 12th District, where Assemblymember Alex Bores ran for Congress. Think Big, Leading the Future's Democratic arm, spent $8.17 million opposing Bores, according to Transformer's FEC tracker. Public First's Jobs and Democracy PAC spent $15.03 million supporting him.
Bores lost the NY-12 Democratic primary to Micah Lasher. The totals make the district one of the most expensive AI-policy proxy fights of the cycle so far.
Other races and the cash still to come
Think Big put over $1 million each behind Jesse Jackson Jr. in Illinois and Ritchie Torres in New York. Both Leading the Future and Public First's Republican arms have spent to support Kevin Hern, Oklahoma's Republican Senate nominee.
Politico's April poll found respondents less likely to back candidates supported by groups pushing looser AI rules — a signal that the spending isn't a guaranteed win.
Safety bills on the table
The legislative side is moving on a separate track. Democrat Ted Lieu and Republican Nathaniel Moran introduced the AI Kill Switch Act in July, requiring top AI developers to keep the ability to shut down their most powerful systems. The Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, from Sanders and Casar, goes further, halting advanced development until a regulator sets safety standards.
AI companies are betting their midterm spending will sway legislation, according to CNBC — which is the dynamic Sanders is trying to short-circuit with the super PAC ban.
The next round of FEC filings, due in October, will show how much cash actually moves into the election in its final stretch.
