Super PACs backed by the crypto, AI, and pro-Israel donor communities have emerged as the dominant outside spending forces in the 2026 midterm primaries.
Combined, these groups have spent more than $180 million in independent expenditures so far, according to a review of Federal Election Commission records.
Their primary targets have been Democratic primaries, where they have worked to defeat progressive candidates and elevate centrists expected to support their policy agendas in Congress.
The most prominent pro-crypto operation centers on Fairshake, a group backed by Coinbase and other venture capital firms, which ended 2025 with nearly $194 million available to spend.
Fairshake’s financial firepower mirrors the crypto industry’s 2024 playbook, when the group dropped $200 million into federal races and helped secure passage of a major stablecoin bill.
The AI industry is now pursuing a similar strategy, with Leading the Future entering the 2026 cycle holding $39 million in its campaign account.
Leading the Future dramatically expanded its war chest, pulling in more than $50 million between August 15 and December 31 of last year.
Among its largest donors were OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and his wife Anna, who each contributed $12.5 million, alongside venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Benjamin Horowitz.
The group has backed 28 candidates across the primaries, with 25 of those candidates winning their races, a success rate that underscores the group’s growing electoral influence.
AI advocacy groups are now hoping their spending translates into legislative wins on emerging artificial intelligence policy, much as crypto spending shaped stablecoin legislation in the previous cycle.
Together, crypto, AI, Big Tech, and online betting corporations have spent $294 million in the 2026 midterms, accounting for 57 percent of total corporate independent expenditure spending in this cycle so far.
