Two networks of super PACs tied to artificial intelligence rivals Anthropic and OpenAI have spent more than $37 million on 2026 congressional primaries, putting them among the cycle's biggest outside spenders as the industry races to shape who writes the rules for AI in Washington.

Federal Election Commission filings cited by the Los Angeles Times show OpenAI-linked groups Think Big PAC and American Mission have spent $14.1 million and $8 million, respectively, through June 15, while Anthropic-linked Jobs and Democracy and Defending Our Values have spent $11 million and $5.2 million.

The two networks back candidates from both parties and have mostly avoided clashing in the same race, with one exception: the Manhattan Democratic primary to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y.

Their target is New York Assemblymember Alex Bores, a former Palantir data scientist who sponsored the state's RAISE Act, a transparency law requiring large AI developers to publish safety protocols and report critical incidents to regulators within 72 hours.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, D, signed the measure on Dec. 19, 2025.

The OpenAI-aligned Leading the Future network, launched last year with backing from Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, has spent more than $7 million attacking Bores ahead of the June 23 primary.

Anthropic-linked groups have spent a comparable sum defending him, casting his bill as a model for guardrails on the most powerful AI systems. The split mirrors the companies' policy positions: OpenAI argues that AI should be regulated solely at the federal level, while Anthropic supports stricter state laws, such as those enacted in New York and California.

Recent polling has shown Bores running close with fellow Assemblymember Micah Lasher, with Jack Schlossberg and George Conway trailing.

The stakes are not abstract.

On June 12, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick ordered Anthropic to halt foreign access to its most powerful models, Mythos 5 and Fable 5, under export controls forcing the company to disable the models entirely.

The order followed a Trump administration executive order in December that directed federal agencies to challenge state AI laws deemed to conflict with national policy.

The spending has also reshaped less prominent contests.

In Montana's 1st District Republican primary on June 2, talk radio host Aaron Flint, endorsed by President Donald Trump and outgoing Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., defeated former state Sen. Al Olszewski, who finished third with 20%.

Olszewski told the Los Angeles Times an OpenAI-linked super PAC spent roughly $877,000 boosting Flint, money he said no grassroots campaign could match. Both AI networks have largely steered clear of ads that explicitly invoke AI, focusing instead on candidate biographies and unrelated policy themes.