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Leading the Future super PAC network retains $20 million after 2026 midterms

Leading the Future, the largest pro‑AI super‑PAC network, reports it still has just over $20 million after the 2026 midterms. The group began the cycle with a war chest of around $100 million, backed by Silicon Valley investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Palantir co‑founder Joe Lonsdale and OpenAI’s Greg Brockman.

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Key points

  • Leading the Future began with a $100 million war chest and now holds just over $20 million
  • Spending $26 million on primaries and $10 million in the general, the group backed safe races
  • Key risk bets failed, including $2 million for Darline Graham who lost 46.5 percent of the vote

The network spent about $26 million on independent expenditures in the primaries and cut back to roughly $10 million in the general election, focusing on safe races. Its high‑profile bets in riskier contests, such as the $2 million donation to Darline Graham in South Carolina, failed to change outcomes, with Graham losing 46.5 percent of the vote.

The effort mirrors the 2024 Fairshake super‑PAC, but polling shows voters distrust Big Tech influence, with an NBC exit poll finding 56 percent of voters said AI and data centers played a “major” role in their vote. The campaign’s limited success suggests a diminishing return for pro‑AI political spending.

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Read the original at Wired AI · by Tess OwenOpen source ↗
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The headline, key points and digest above were generated by Digest AI's editorial model from the linked sources. Automated summaries can contain errors: the sources are the record. Spotted a mistake? Tell us. Published by Martin K., who runs Digest AI and handles corrections.

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