AI super PAC Leading the Future holds $31.5 million for midterm push
A Federal Election Commission filing puts $31.5 million inside pro-industry super PAC Leading the Future after the group routed $20 million to affiliates during Q2, split evenly between Think Big PAC and American…
A Federal Election Commission filing puts $31.5 million inside pro-industry super PAC Leading the Future after the group routed $20 million to affiliates during Q2, split evenly between Think Big PAC and American Mission PAC at $10 million each. Employees of Anthropic, Alphabet (GOOGL), and OpenAI have directed capital toward the opposing camp, AI safety-focused vehicles that collectively hold a fraction of those reserves. The next confirmable milestone: FEC disclosures tracking how Leading the Future's network deploys its remaining balance before November.
Where $31.5 million sits
Leading the Future is backed by tech executives and investors pushing for rapid AI development and lighter federal regulation. Spokesperson Jesse Hunt told Axios the group's resources would allow it to build a "deep bench of pro-innovation champions." That language points to continued spending across congressional races, not a drawdown after the Q2 transfers. No candidate has won or lost decisively on the AI issue alone so far, but the PAC's reserves give it significant room to press that argument through the fall.
The safety side's balance sheet
Public First Action, a bipartisan 501(c)(4) nonprofit that advocates for AI safety, received $20 million from Anthropic earlier this year and is tied to three super PACs. Its most visible affiliate, Public First PAC, reported roughly $494,000 cash on hand at Q2 close after raising about $3.4 million during the quarter, much of it from Anthropic executives and employees, and transferring $3.3 million to Jobs and Democracy PAC. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei separately donated $1 million to Public First. Combined contributions from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI employees to Public First PAC exceeded $2 million during the period.
Jobs and Democracy PAC, which backs Democrats, closed Q2 with about $1.3 million on hand. The group spent heavily behind New York candidate Alex Bores, a pro-AI-safety Democrat who lost to fellow Democrat Micah Lasher. It also received nearly $10 million from Public First Action, the affiliated 501(c)(4), during the same reporting window.
Smaller players
Defending Our Values PAC, which focuses on Republican races, ended the quarter with nearly $315,000. Guardrails Alliance, a newly launched super PAC founded by Democratic organizers and backed by tech workers, reported nearly $400,000. Both totals sit well below Leading the Future's Q2 closing figure.
The next FEC filings will show whether Think Big PAC and American Mission PAC, which each received $10 million from Leading the Future, have begun converting those transfers into ad spending before November.