Story perspectives

AI PACs Public First, Leading Future Spend $24M, Midterm Clash

6/1/2026

Summary

Public First Battles AI

Public First, allied with Anthropic, and Leading the Future, aligned with OpenAI, have become the largest AI-related spenders in the 2026 midterm elections and are locked in direct conflict.
The two PACs have spent nearly $24 million on campaign activities so far.
Backers have pledged more than $100 million in additional political spending.
The clash has caused canceled ad purchases, bruised egos, and candidates to distance themselves from the opposing PAC.

Summary

Anthropic Employees Donate

Anthropic employees donated $880,000 in 302 campaign gifts by Q1 2026, averaging $12,500 each.
Alex Bores and Scott Wiener together gave $296,000, with Bores contributing $186,000 and Wiener over $110,000.
Jan Leike, Alignment Science head, donated $24,000 and condemned the Leading the Future super PAC.
AnthroPAC, in April, has raised $119,019 but named no candidates.
OpenAI employees filed $300,000 in 162 donations, including a $17,500 donor who moved to Anthropic in 2024.

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Public First Battles AI

Public First, allied with Anthropic, and Leading the Future, aligned with OpenAI, have become the largest AI-related spenders in the 2026 midterm elections and are locked in direct conflict.
The two PACs have spent nearly $24 million on campaign activities so far.
Backers have pledged more than $100 million in additional political spending.
The clash has caused canceled ad purchases, bruised egos, and candidates to distance themselves from the opposing PAC.

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