NYT: OpenAI- and Anthropic-aligned super PACs have spent $55.7M on the US midterms, and none of their 95 ads mention data centers
A New York Times analysis published Sept 29, 2026 found that political groups aligned with OpenAI (Leading the Future) and Anthropic (Public First Action) had spent $55.7M on advertising and outreach in the 2026 US midterms. Almost all of it, $52.6M, went into primaries for safe seats. None of the 95 ads it reviewed mentioned data centers, and only some mentioned AI at all.
Key facts
- Total spent so far by OpenAI- and Anthropic-aligned groups: $55.7M (NYT)
- $52.6M spent in safe seats with intense intra-party primaries
- Of 95 ads reviewed, none referred to data centers and only some mentioned AI
- Leading the Future (OpenAI-aligned; backed by Greg and Anna Brockman and Andreessen Horowitz) favors federal preemption of state AI rules; it had raised about $140M (earlier reports)
- Public First Action (Anthropic-aligned; led by Brad Carson) supports some AI safety rules; Anthropic gave it $20M in February 2026 (Axios)
- Sept 30 (NYT, Slack message): Greg Brockman said Leading the Future had become a 'distraction' at OpenAI and he has no plans to give beyond the initial $25M from him and his wife Anna; the PAC had said the Brockmans intended to give $50M across 2025–2026
- Semafor (Oct 2, Garrison Lovely and colleagues): leaked OpenAI Slack messages show employee pushback against Brockman's ties to Leading the Future starting in June 2026, after Jason Kwon posted internally on June 1 that OpenAI had no connection to the PAC. Staff warned that it was hurting the brand and could push researchers to Anthropic, and flagged a Brockman-funded X account as a 'sockpuppet'. Semafor credits this pressure for Brockman dropping the second $25M; Brockman said he felt 'terrible about the fact that LTF keeps reflecting on the company'
- SF Chronicle donor analysis (Oct 5, 2025–26 cycle): Greg and Anna Brockman gave $25M to MAGA Inc. and $25M to Leading the Future; Sam Altman gave $31,100 across eight donations ($17,100 to Democrats, $14,000 to Republicans; largest $7,000 to Sen. Mark Warner); Dario Amodei gave $1M to Public First Action in May 2026; Anthropic gave $850,000 to the California Democratic Party, and Anthropic's PAC gave $156,000 across 44 donations ($98,000 to Republicans, $58,000 to Democrats)
- Reaction (Punchbowl News, Oct 5): House Progressive Caucus chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) celebrated Brockman pulling back: 'The tables have turned on AI preemption, on data centers, on AI safety, and now on AI super PACs… The people are beating back the money'; 'Progressives have worked hard to make LTF as toxic as AIPAC'
What happened
The NYT tallied spending and ads by the two rival AI super PAC networks ahead of the November 2026 midterms. Both avoid data centers, which are unpopular with voters, and many of their ads do not mention AI at all.
Why it matters
The two leading labs are fighting their policy battle (preemption and light rules versus safety rules) through proxy political spending. The ads' silence on data centers and AI suggests the industry sees its own issues as a political liability, as polls show voters souring on AI.
Unverified: the NYT interactive could not be read directly in this run. The figures come from the Techmeme summary and secondary reports. The Leading the Future and Public First details come from earlier reporting.
Changelog
- 2026-09-30: created (quick run on Techmeme Sept 30)
- 2026-10-01: sweep 2026-10-01: added Brockman's decision not to give beyond $25M to Leading the Future (NYT paywalled; via Techmeme and secondary reports)
- 2026-10-03: added Semafor's leaked-Slack account of employee pushback (01:30 quick run, sweep)
- 2026-10-05: added the SF Chronicle's executive and corporate donation analysis
- 2026-10-05: 21:30 run: added Greg Casar's reaction (Punchbowl News)
People
Dario Amodei Greg Brockman Jason Kwon Sam Altman
Related posts (1)
- NYT scoop: Brockman drops his second $25M pledge to Leading the Future original ↗ Teddy Schleifer @teddyschleifer · x · 2026-09-30
Reporter's own scoop (~281K views): Greg Brockman will not make the second $25M donation he had promised to the AI super PAC Leading the Future.
Related events
- Trump signs executive order 'Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence', ordering federal agencies to replace 'AI' with 'Super Intelligence (SI)' ★★★
- Trump hosts AI CEOs at the White House; they sign a voluntary 'morally binding' Accord on Superintelligence, and Trump rejects new federal AI rules ★★★★
- Model Republic traces the September anti-'AI safety' online campaign to Innovation Council Action, a $100M pro-AI dark-money group ★★
- NYT: Meta cut billions from its federal taxes by treating AI data centers as 'experimental' research facilities ★★
- Vanity Fair names Sam Altman No. 1 on its New Establishment list; two-part interview covers extinction risk, Astra 6.1, regulation and accepting 'severe cyber incidents' from open models ★★★
Sources (10)
- pressSan Francisco Chronicle: OpenAI and Anthropic execs donate millions to political causes. One billionaire stands apart (Oct 5)
- pressNew York Times: AI super PAC money in the midterm elections
- discussionTechmeme summary
- pressAxios: Anthropic pours $20 million into AI policy fight
- pressNPR: Groups tied to OpenAI and Anthropic are spending big on the midterms
- pressTechCrunch: A group funded by Andreessen Horowitz and Brockman plans data center ads to sway midterms
- pressPunchbowl News: Casar celebrates AI PAC setback (Oct 5)
- pressNYT (Sept 30): Greg Brockman and the Leading the Future super PAC
- discussionTechmeme: Brockman has no plans to donate beyond his initial $25M to Leading the Future
- pressSemafor: How employees forced OpenAI's president to back down
id: 2026-09-29-nyt-ai-super-pacs-55-7m-midterms · updated 2026-10-05 · open in the interactive timeline