Candidates backed by AI companies have found early success — of the 20 candidates in the Texas and North Carolina primaries who received AI funds, including many in competitive, open primaries, only one lost her race. And if people don’t see that AI can be used for social utility, they’re not going to tolerate it,” Carson said. Much of the spending is focused on lawmakers who will have some say in AI regulation or who explicitly want to be involved in the issue. And many companies and leaders, including Amazon, Microsoft, OpenAI leader Sam Altman, and smaller companies like C3 AI and Perplexity AI, also contributed to the president’s inaugural fund. “There is a gold rush on,” said one Democratic operative who works for a candidate affected by the AI spending, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to bluntly discuss the impact.

Source: Washington Post March 12, 2026 19:52 UTC