AI Safety Advocates Are Spending Tens of Millions To Get Lawmakers to Take Regulation Seriously

AI safety advocacy groups and individual donors have spent approximately $48 million supporting candidates in Democratic and Republican races during the 2026 election cycle, as competing groups seek to influence how Washington regulates artificial intelligence.

The spending includes contributions from AI researchers and technology workers, along with advocacy organizations backing candidates who favor stronger safeguards, according to an analysis shared exclusively with Axios.

Among the groups involved is Guardrails Alliance, a tech-worker-backed organization that has raised $11.7 million through its super PAC and affiliated nonprofit. The fundraising comes amid a broader political contest involving technology executives and investors with competing views on AI regulation.

One of the donors, Jacob Eliosoff, who runs cryptocurrency investment fund Calibrated Markets, became involved in AI-related political giving after observing the activities of Leading the Future, a super PAC backed by technology executives and investors.

Eliosoff told Axios that he wanted to avoid a repeat of the 2024 election cycle, when he believed cryptocurrency industry spending had exerted excessive influence over candidates' regulatory positions.

"If politicians feel like they can't say anything because there's a very deep-pocketed and ruthless political entity that's going to go after them, that motivates me to step in," Eliosoff said.

He has donated to candidates from both parties whom he considers receptive to addressing AI risks and potentially advancing regulation.

The political spending comes as groups advocating different approaches to AI oversight compete to influence congressional races ahead of the November elections.

Leading the Future, which supports a national regulatory framework for AI, has attracted substantial financial backing.

According to Federal Election Commission records, the super PAC reported approximately $75.8 million in total receipts from its registration in August 2025 through June 30, 2026. It had roughly $31.03 million in cash on hand at the end of that period.

Those figures represent the group's reported fundraising and financial position, rather than the amount spent directly supporting candidates.

Leading the Future has backed more than 15 Democratic candidates and more than 25 Republican candidates, according to Axios.

The group has argued that federal AI legislation will require bipartisan support. In a statement to the outlet, it pointed to the 60 votes generally needed to advance legislation in the Senate and called for cooperation among groups concerned with both AI safety and the technology's potential benefits.

The debate includes disagreements over whether AI regulation should be established primarily at the federal level or through a combination of federal and state requirements.

A Congressional Research Service report examining U.S. AI regulation outlines proposals involving transparency requirements, safety assessments and restrictions on particular applications of the technology.

Differences over AI oversight have also emerged within technology companies. OpenAI President Greg Brockman withdrew a planned second $25 million contribution to Leading the Future, partly because of internal opposition at OpenAI.