Super PACs backed by artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency companies are channeling tens of millions of dollars into the 2026 midterm primaries despite growing public skepticism about both technologies. This heavy investment risks undermining the candidates they support.
A survey conducted by Public First from April 11 to 14 included 2,035 U.S. adults online, with results weighted for age, race, gender, geography, and educational attainment. The overall margin of sampling error was plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
The poll found that 45% of Americans believe investing in cryptocurrency is not worth the risk, while 44% stated that artificial intelligence is developing too quickly.
Nearly half of respondents expressed greater trust in traditional banks for holding their money compared to cryptocurrency platforms; only 17% held the opposite view.
Two-thirds of those surveyed supported lawmakers who either imposed strict AI regulations or established broad oversight principles.
Leading the Future, a pro-AI super PAC launched in August 2025, has raised $75.5 million through March 31, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The group, which counts Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale among its backers, has spent funds through affiliated PACs in House primaries in North Carolina, Texas, Illinois, and New York.
Fairshake, the dominant pro-crypto super PAC, entered 2026 with approximately $193 million on hand, supported by Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz, and Ripple Labs.
The network of affiliated PACs has spent about $28 million across competitive primaries this cycle. In 2024, an associated PAC named Defend American Jobs allocated over $40 million to help defeat then-Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who is now running for office again.
Crypto-focused spending is linked to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which cleared the U.S. House with a vote of 294-134 in July 2025 but has stalled in the Senate.
Jesse Hunt, spokesperson for Leading the Future, stated that a national framework would prevent a patchwork of conflicting state laws from hindering efforts to gain a competitive edge in the global AI race against China.
Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a vocal advocate for AI regulations, remarked that Democrats should frame their spending as an issue. “People do not want AI companies to run them over culturally and economically,” he said. “They don’t trust cryptocurrency.”
Jason Thielman, former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, noted that crypto-aligned groups are seeking “to maintain a degree of bipartisanship and identify people whom they think will be champions on these issues.”
Both industries are also increasing lobbying efforts in Washington.
Anthropic spent a record $1.6 million in the first quarter of 2026, while OpenAI spent $1 million—both amounts representing quarterly peaks.
Former Ohio Representative Jim Renacci, who lost to Brown in 2018, observed that crypto groups are “absolutely becoming a disruptive force in political spending, including in Ohio,” adding: “They’re not unique. It’s just the latest version of outside money.”
Only 9% of Americans have heard of Leading the Future, and 3% have heard of Fairshake, compared with 48% for the National Rifle Association.
