Trump, $400M PAC enter fight for pro-crypto Congress

Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail, and he is bringing his $400 million MAGA Inc. super PAC with him. The president is holding a rally Friday in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for Sen. Darline Graham, days ahead of her Republican runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman.

A GOP operative told Politico that Trump "probably has the ability to move the needle in Republicans' favor better than anyone else." Fox News' Aishah Hasnie reported that a source confirmed Trump will "begin dipping into his massive $400 million personal Super PAC called 'MAGA Inc' to help vulnerable Republicans this November."

South Carolina is deeply red. Graham's race is about as close to a layup as any Republican can get this cycle. The real test is whether Trump's support can flip tighter races elsewhere.

The stakes for crypto and AI regulation are direct. The industry's priority bill, the CLARITY Act, is stalled with a September 15 cloture vote that needs 60 votes. Whichever party controls Congress will decide whether the bill passes or whether the SEC and CFTC write crypto rules on their own, per Cryptopolitan.

Crypto, AI, and online betting firms are behind a record $517 million in corporate election spending this cycle, according to Public Citizen data cited by Cryptopolitan. The crypto super PAC Fairshake holds about $130 million. AI-focused super PACs have raised $107 million and spent $55.5 million on federal races. Leading the Future, backed by Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, built a roughly $140 million network. On the other side, the pro-regulation Public First Action has raised $80 million, including $40 million from Anthropic.

Most of the $4 million that Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz each gave this cycle went straight to Trump's MAGA Inc.

AI stakeholders face a different headwind. Polling suggests data-center backlash is hurting Sen. Jon Husted in the Ohio Senate race. Around 71% of Americans polled by Gallup this spring said they would rather not have new data centers near their homes. That kind of local opposition complicates AI industry messaging on the trail.

For crypto, a Republican majority would likely mean a faster path to the CLARITY Act and friendlier rulemaking at the SEC and CFTC. A Democratic majority would keep the current regulatory posture in place, with agency-driven enforcement rather than legislation.

The September 15 cloture vote on the CLARITY Act will serve as an early test of where things stand. Until then, Trump's PAC deployments and the success of his rally circuit will offer real-time signals on whether his brand still shifts votes.