Crypto, AI Firms Drive Record $517M in 2026 Election Spending

Corporate election spending hit a record $517 million in the 15 months through the first quarter of 2026, led by crypto firms and AI companies. Public Citizen’s data shows the total surpassed the $461 million corporations spent across the full two-year 2024 cycle. Online gambling businesses also contributed, though exact figures are not separately broken out.

More money is expected before the Nov. 3 vote, when Democrats will try to take control of both chambers. The businesses writing the biggest checks are not the traditional powers that dominated Washington political money for decades. Companies and billionaire founders can send funds into super PACs, affiliated PACs, and nonprofit organizations that do not need to reveal donors. Some donors fund several parts of those networks while also giving separately to individual politicians.

CEOs have spent millions of their personal money beyond corporate donations. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has spent over $90 million in federal races for the 2026 cycle and said he expects to spend more before November. Alphabet co-founder Sergey Brin has spent over $106 million in California alone, including money he used to try to stop the state’s wealth tax. Alphabet’s GOOGL stock page shows a strong Alpha Score of 76.

Meta Platforms gave $65 million to four separate super PACs supporting Democratic and Republican candidates in state races. The spending covers elections in California, Texas, Illinois, and other states. Meta’s META stock page carries a moderate Alpha Score of 56.

Political advertising across all groups will hit a record $11.6 billion, AdImpact estimates. That would move past the earlier advertising record of $11.2 billion set during the 2023–2024 cycle. The total includes money from billionaires, unions, social causes, and other groups.

The crypto industry used this political model aggressively during the 2024 elections. Coinbase, Ripple, and venture capital firm 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.”

Crypto groups supported politicians who favored their policy positions, regardless of party. Politicians seen as hostile to the sector became targets of multimillion-dollar outside campaigns. Sherrod Brown, once a leading voice against cryptocurrencies as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has softened his approach. According to his campaign director, Patrick Eisenhauer, Brown understands that “cryptocurrency is part of America’s economy.”

Fairshake began 2026 with a $193 million pool of campaign money. Election records show about $130 million is still available for upcoming races. Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz supplied nearly all of that funding. Coinbase’s COIN stock page shows a weak Alpha Score of 32.

Andreessen Horowitz has 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 went to Fairshake. The firm’s founders are also using personal wealth. Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen have each donated roughly $4 million during this election cycle, mostly to MAGA Inc., the super PAC supporting President Donald Trump.

Fairshake held $130 million at the end of the first quarter, records show. Musk has indicated he expects to spend more than the $90 million he has already committed. Total corporate political spending has already climbed to $517 million several months before voters go to the polls.