The AI and cryptocurrency sectors are bankrolling hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising to shape public opinion and elect allies to Congress and key state offices in the midterm elections.
But neither industry spends with consensus, on political objectives or even party, revealing two rapidly evolving industries roiled by internal conflict. That’s not exactly the harbinger of a tech apocalypse foisted on the country by billionaires gone rogue.
Anthropic, for example, has advocated for regulating the industry at the state level and donated millions toward building public support for that approach. Conversely, top AI super PAC Leading the Future is the tip of the spear for investors and firms, like Perplexity, that are pushing President Donald Trump and Congress to enact federal regulations that would supersede any state legislation. The group has deployed roughly $30 million in nearly 40 primaries this year on behalf of both Democrats and Republicans, touting a record of 38-1. And their messaging has been tailored to specific campaigns, versus an AI-focused pitch that strategists acknowledge would be ineffective at moving voters.
“This is the first inning. This is a decade-long conversation that needs to be had,” explained Zac Moffatt, chief strategist for Leading the Future and a veteran Republican consultant. “We think the entire freshman class is going to be younger, more dynamic and more in tune with AI than the people they’re replacing. So for us, we are just getting started.” (Leading the Future’s biggest challenge, presently, is quelling the brewing bipartisan voter revolt over data centers. Pollsters tell me that Americans are conflating AI technology and data centers, two distinct, albeit related, issues.)
Leading the Future just announced a fresh $2 million advertising buy aimed at shoring up four Republican Senate contenders in the presumably safe red states of Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and South Dakota. It’s unclear if, or when, the group might roll out a similar ad buy for Democrats. It’s a glaring omission with Democrats poised to flip control of the House and in contention for the Senate majority.
See more: The Skill That Fades When AI Does the Prep
Meanwhile, Fairshake, a top cryptocurrency super PAC, is on the airwaves in Ohio with a television spot touting Senator Jon Husted, the Republican struggling to fend off his Democratic challenger, former Senator Sherrod Brown. The group also spent against Brown in 2024, when the Democrat lost reelection to now-Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican. The donors behind Fairshake, including Coinbase, are apparently punishing Brown because they’re angry at Senate Democrats for derailing passage of the Clarity Act, the New York Times reported. True to form for this chaotic industry, however, the legislation — which would federally regulate cryptocurrencies — is not necessarily a priority for all firms in this sector. And Fairshake’s spending against Brown isn’t universally embraced by the cryptocurrency industry, either.
Political spending by AI and cryptocurrency interests, whether firms, executives or financiers, is hardly a new development. But it is on the uptick.
That’s a product of the gradual maturation of these two industries as they follow the well-worn path of those that came before them. As I’ve written previously: Money in politics almost always flows to candidates and incumbents who already support an industry’s (or company’s or donor’s) policy priorities. And spending is typically deployed against candidates who already oppose them. It’s no different for AI and cryptocurrency in the current midterm cycle. Granted, tracking their political spending can be tricky as it runs through webs of interconnected super PACs and nonprofits.
Democratic operative Andrew Bates doesn’t necessarily disagree but argued that AI and crypto dumping millions into the midterms could cement views that wealthy donors and big corporations enjoy an unfair advantage in American politics. Bates might be right. It’s certainly true that many voters have come to believe that money single-handedly dictates political outcomes, no matter how much I protest that theory.
“Money in politics across the board is extremely unpopular,” said Bates, a White House communications aide under President Joe Biden. “When you layer on top of all that concern, and all that anger — that people are very worried about [AI] from a jobs standpoint, safety standpoint, public health standpoint — you get an even more combustible situation.”
There’s a great scene in the classic Mel Brooks parody History of the World Part I that describes the advent of the first art critic as the inevitable consequence of the birth of the first artist. It’s much the same with the AI and cryptocurrency industries expanding their foray into politics. Business sectors that grow large enough to impact Americans day-to-day are bound to pique the regulatory interest of federal lawmakers. Those sectors, in turn, are almost assuredly going to feel compelled to sway the legislation and rulemaking likely to follow.
In that regard, AI and cryptocurrency aren’t that innovative, after all.
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