Pro-AI super PAC backed by OpenAI president targets key 2025 primaries

FIRST ON FOX — A wealthy super PAC working to elect AI-friendly candidates is investing heavily in the upcoming Senate and House primaries ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Leading the Future, a pro-AI group with a massive war chest backed by industry executives, is pledging to spend $2 million on Senate races in Louisiana, Montana and Oklahoma, with $1.5 million to be distributed immediately.

The super PAC, backed by OpenAI president Greg Brockman and his wife, Anna, as well as donors including venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, will distribute $750,000 in House primaries in California and Washington state. The developments were first reported by Fox News Digital.

The group’s new round of spending comes after victories in North Carolina, Texas, Illinois and Georgia; where he has poured money into key primaries from both parties to elect candidates who oppose state AI regulations and are more supportive of the industry. And it comes at a time when AI industry money is increasingly shaping political primaries amid fights over federal and state regulations.

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Leading the Future in Louisiana is backing Republican Rep. Julia Letlow, who faces state Treasurer John Fleming, a former congressman, for the GOP Senate nomination in a June 27 runoff election in the race to replace Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy.

Cassidy, a target of President Donald Trump as he runs for re-election, finished third in last week’s GOP primary, while Letlow and Fleming advanced to the runoff.

Letlow, who is backed by Trump, is seen as the frontrunner for the nomination and general election in the red state.

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Leading the Future is backing former U.S. Attorney for Montana Kurt Alme, who resigned last March to launch a Republican Senate campaign in Montana in the race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Steve Daines. The primary election in Montana will be held on June 2.

Former U.S. District Attorney Kurt Alme is backed by President Donald Trump as he runs to replace outgoing Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) to preserve the GOP’s majority in the Senate. (Alme Campaign)

Daines withdrew from the Republican primary briefings before the deadline last year and backed Alme, who also supports Trump.

In Oklahoma, Leading the Future is supporting Rep. Kevin Hern, the front-runner in the June 16 GOP primary in the race to fill the final two years of the term of former Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who resigned earlier this year to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security in the Trump administration. Hern is also supported by the president.

Leading the Future says it plans to “implement a fully integrated paid strategy including broadcast, cable, broadcast/digital, direct mail and messaging to ensure our candidates are identified early and supported across the most effective voter engagement channels.”

The group is also supporting Republican Rep. Jay Obernolte in the June 2 primary election in California’s 23rd Congressional District, which is located in San Bernardino County but also includes parts of Los Angeles and Kern counties.

Leading the Future said its investments “reflect the importance of standing behind proven legislative champions who have already demonstrated leadership on artificial intelligence, innovation and the broader pro-growth technology agenda.”

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Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, is running for Senate in 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images)

The group is also backing Republican Angela McKinney in Washington state’s 4th Congressional District (in the central part of the state) in the race to unseat retiring GOP Rep. Jim Newhouse. Washington state’s primary election will be held on August 4.

Both California and Washington state hold nonpartisan “jungle” primaries in which all candidates appear on the same ballot, with the top two finishers advancing to the general election.

Leading the Future has raised more than $125 million in 2025 and reported having more than $70 million in the bank at the beginning of this year. It earned another $25 million in the first three months of this year.

Senior Republican consultant Zac Moffat, who serves as co-strategist for Leadership for the Future, said the group “identifies opportunities where our resources can help cultivate a deep cadre of pro-innovation leaders in Congress who understand both the tremendous economic benefits of AI and the importance of creating a clear national framework.” “Building this coalition now is critical to our mission of Leading the Future, and we are proud to announce our support.”

Leading the Future also targeted candidates who support more guardrails in the industry; Critics argue this could stifle innovation and cede growth to China. The group is promising to spend millions to oust Democratic New York state legislator Alex Boros from Congress.

The group’s aggressive mid-term presence comes as the Trump administration pushes for the creation of a single federal AI framework and supporting infrastructure, including data centers.

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Trump has prioritized American innovation in artificial intelligence and maintaining a competitive advantage over China over increasing regulations on the emerging industry.

The Trump administration has pushed back against restrictive regulations at the state level, and last week the president delayed an expected executive order that would increase federal oversight of the industry after apparent objection from AI leaders.

But recent polls reveal that Americans are increasingly concerned about the use of artificial intelligence in daily life, with concerns about job displacement, data privacy and weakening of human skills.

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In the most recent Fox News national poll, voters had a 50-point unfavorable opinion of AI. privacy (63% hurts, 13% helps), 35 points on job creation in the US (56-21), 15 points on the national economy (42-27), 5 points on people’s daily lives (38-33), and 4 points on their personal lives (30-26).

The poll highlighted a partisan divide, with Democrats and independents saying by double digits that AI hurts rather than helps across the board, and a majority of Republicans supporting AI.