Crypto, AI, and online betting firms are driving a record $517 million in corporate election spending

Crypto firms, artificial intelligence companies, and online gambling businesses are behind a $517 million of corporate election spending focused on the 2026 U.S. races.

Public Citizen’s data claims that U.S. companies put that sum into House and Senate contests during the 15 months through the first quarter, surpassing the $461 million corporations spent across the full two-year 2024 election cycle.

Even more cash is expected before voting on November 3, when Democrats will try to control both chambers. The businesses sending the largest checks are not the traditional powers that dominated political money in Washington for decades.

Crypto, tech, and betting firms route huge sums through expanding political networks

Companies and billionaire founders can send funds into super PACs, affiliated PACs supported by those groups, and nonprofit organizations that need not reveal donors. Some donors fund several parts of those networks while also giving separately to individual politicians.

Super PACs can raise unlimited sums of money, but they cannot hand those funds directly to candidates or coordinate what they do with campaigns. Instead, they can buy political ads, finance voter turnout efforts, and fund campaign events and rallies.

CEOs have even spent millions of their personal money above corporate donations. This is seen by way of SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) CEO Elon Musk, who has spent over $90 million in federal races for the 2026 cycle and will end up spending much more before November arrives.

Co-founder of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL, GOOG) Sergey Brin has spent over $106 million in California alone, including money he spent trying to stop the wealth tax in his state.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) has given $65 million to four separate super PACs supporting Democratic and Republican candidates in state races. Their activity includes elections in California, Texas, Illinois, and other states.

Corporate spending is only part of the money flowing into the midterms. AdImpact estimates political advertising will hit a record $11.6 billion, including money from billionaires, unions, social causes, and other groups. That would move past the earlier advertising record of $11.2 billion set during the 2023-2024 election cycle.

Fairshake goes after crypto critics as major donors stockpile cash for 2026

The crypto industry already used this political model aggressively during the 2024 elections. Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), Ripple, and venture capital company Andreessen Horowitz supplied major money to Fairshake, the sector’s main super PAC.

One of the group’s biggest battles happened in Ohio, where its spending helped remove longtime Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown from office.

Public Citizen later compared Fairshake to a corporate “Death Star” that could “annihilate individual candidates.” Its method moved away from the older habit of tying an industry closely to only one political party.

Crypto groups instead supported politicians who favored their policy positions, regardless of whether those candidates were Democrats or Republicans. Politicians seen as hostile to the sector could then become targets of multimillion-dollar outside campaigns designed to push them out of office.

Sherrod used to be one of the biggest voices against cryptocurrencies when he sat as the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Now, his approach has softened due to his political aspirations.

Experts say that his aggressive stance has been toned down as he is seeking re-election in the Senate. According to Sherrod’s campaign director, Patrick Eisenhauer, he understands that “cryptocurrency is part of America’s economy.”

Fairshake began 2026 with a $193 million pool of campaign money. Election records now show that about $130 million is still available for upcoming races. Coinbase, Ripple, and California venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz supplied nearly all of that funding.

Andreessen Horowitz has also contributed more than $81 million to PACs centered mostly on crypto and AI, based on federal campaign records reviewed by Reuters. At least $23.8 million from that amount was sent to Fairshake.

The company’s founders are also using their personal wealth. Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen have each donated around $4 million during this election cycle. Most of their personal contributions went to MAGA Inc., the super PAC supporting President Donald Trump.

Fairshake still has $130 million available for political spending before November. Elon has also indicated that he expects to spend more than the $90 million he has already committed.

Large amounts from both sources are therefore still waiting to be used, while total corporate political spending has already climbed to $517 million several months before voters go to the polls.

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