CNBC: AI-Focused Super PACs Have Spent $78.5M in 2026 Cycle, Nearly Even Accelerationist vs Safeguard Split

AI-focused political groups have spent roughly $78.5M on 2026 federal candidates, with nearly three-quarters going to primaries before falling sharply in the general, per CNBC's analysis. In general-election House and Senate races, accelerationist groups favoring faster AI and lighter rules spent about $8M while safeguard-focused groups spent about $6.9M, with totals of $34M and $39M across the cycle. Anthropic committed $20M to Public First Action in February and another $20M in July, though the company says the funds are restricted to policy and public education, not candidate campaigns.