Silicon Valley elites are planning to spend big money in 2026 to ensure that the next US Congress will be even more friendly to the artificial intelligence industry than the current Republican-led version.

CNN reported on Wednesday that Leading the Future, a super political action committee (PAC) focused on electing AI-friendly members of Congress, is pledging to spend at least $100 million to influence the 2026 midterm election.

The PAC, which is backed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, and other AI heavyweights, is working to elect lawmakers who will pass legislation that will set a single set of AI regulations that will take effect throughout the US, overriding any restrictions placed on the technology by state governments.

The massive sum the PAC is dedicating to the 2026 midterms prompted Matthew Stoller, researcher at the American Economic Liberties Project, to remark that this is “what oligarchy looks like.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tried to get a provision preempting state AI regulations slipped into the GOP’s major budget package last year, but it was ultimately taken out amid bipartisan resistance to giving the AI industry a blank regulatory check.

President Donald Trump subsequently signed an executive order instructing the US Department of Justice to create a task force that would sue any state governments that enact supposedly “onerous and excessive” regulations on the technology.

However, as an executive order, this directive can be overturned by any future president who supports stronger AI regulation.

CNN noted that Leading the Future’s planned flood of cash is coming at a time when AI has been drawing skepticism from factions within both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for instance, has thrown his support behind a “Citizen Bill of Rights for AI,” which would provide privacy protections for end users and place restrictions on the construction of AI data centers.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), meanwhile, has called for a full moratorium on the construction of new AI data centers.

Leading the Future also appears to understand that the AI industry’s reputation is becoming toxic for voters.

As Fast Company reported on Wednesday, the super PAC has launched negative ads against Democratic New York US congressional candidate Alex Bores by highlighting his past work at Palantir, which has become controversial for providing technology used by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to carry out mass deportations.

Current and former Palantir employees told Fast Company that they believe the ad against Bores to be highly deceptive, as Palantir wasn’t nearly as integrated with ICE operations during his tenure as it is today.

“If Bores’ campaign is one that would restrict the tech industry’s growth,” one former Palantir employee told Fast Company, “and his base is one that is already primed to be critical of Palantir, people (like me!) who watch this ad wouldn’t suspect that it’s people with significant interests in Palantir and the broader industry that are funding the ads, too.”

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