Super PACs aligned with the artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency industries are pouring tens of millions of dollars into the 2026 midterm primaries even as new polling shows most Americans remain skeptical of both technologies, raising the prospect that the spending could backfire on the candidates it backs.
A Politico poll conducted by Public First from April 11 to 14 surveyed 2,035 U.S. adults online, with results weighted by age, race, gender, geography, and educational attainment. The overall margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
The poll found 45% of Americans say investing in cryptocurrency is not worth the risk, and 44% say AI is developing too quickly.
Nearly half said they trust a traditional bank with their money more than a crypto platform; just 17% said the opposite.
Two-thirds of those polled backed lawmakers who either imposed strict AI regulations or set 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, backed by Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, has spent through affiliated PACs in House primaries in North Carolina, Texas, Illinois, and New York.
Fairshake, the dominant pro-crypto super PAC, headed into 2026 with roughly $193 million on hand, fueled by Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz, and Ripple Labs.
Politico reported its network of PACs has spent about $28 million across competitive primaries this cycle. In 2024, an affiliated PAC, Defend American Jobs, spent more than $40 million to help defeat then-Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who is running again for office.
Crypto spending is tied to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which cleared the House 294-134 in July 2025 but has stalled in the Senate.
Leading the Future spokesperson Jesse Hunt told Politico, "a national framework will prevent a patchwork of conflicting state laws from harming our ability to win the global AI race against China."
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a vocal AI regulation advocate, told Politico, "Democrats' best approach is to make their spending an issue. People do not want AI companies to run them over culturally and economically. They don't trust crypto."
Jason Thielman, former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said the 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 boosting lobbying in Washington.
Anthropic spent a record $1.6 million in the first quarter of 2026, and OpenAI spent $1 million, both quarterly highs, according to disclosures reported by Axios.
Former Ohio Rep. Jim Renacci, who lost to Brown in 2018, told Politico that crypto groups are "absolutely becoming a disruptive force in political spending, including in Ohio," but added: "they're not unique. It's just the latest version of outside money."
Just 9% of Americans said they have heard of Leading the Future, and 3% of Fairshake, compared with 48% for the National Rifle Association.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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