Public First Action
Anthropic-backed PAC spending $20m on congressional races to favour AI regulation.
Last refreshed: 12 April 2026
Why is Anthropic funding congressional races without mentioning AI in its adverts?
- What is Public First Action PAC?
- Public First Action is a pro-AI-regulation super PAC backed by Anthropic with $20 million committed to the 2026 midterms. It runs congressional ads that make no reference to AI, focusing on healthcare and immigration to elect pro-regulation candidates.Source: FEC filings and reporting, 2026
- Is Anthropic spending money on the 2026 elections?
- Yes. Anthropic has reportedly committed $20 million to Public First Action, a PAC running congressional ads to favour AI regulation. The ads do not mention AI; they focus on healthcare, immigration, and jobs.Source: Reporting on AI PACs, 2026
- What is Leading the Future PAC and how does it differ from Public First Action?
- Leading the Future is backed by OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and Andreessen Horowitz and opposes AI regulation. Public First Action, backed by Anthropic, favours it. Both run ads without mentioning AI.Source: FEC filings and reporting, 2026
Background
Public First Action is a pro-AI-regulation super PAC backed by Anthropic with a reported $20 million commitment, funding congressional advertising that favours AI safety oversight. It operates in direct competition with Leading the Future, a PAC backed by OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and Andreessen Horowitz that opposes AI regulation. Both organisations are running campaign ads in 2026 congressional races that make no reference to artificial intelligence, instead focusing on healthcare, immigration, and economic issues.
The strategy of running issue-neutral ads reflects the AI industry's assessment that AI regulation is not yet a voter-mobilising issue, while the underlying goal is to install or remove members of Congress who will vote on AI legislation. Public First Action targets pro-regulation candidates and opposes those backed by Leading the Future. The hidden-agenda structure means voters funded by AI industry PACs may be unaware of the AI industry's stake in their election.
Anthropic's involvement marks a departure from the company's typical posture of emphasising safety-focused research and regulatory engagement. A $20 million super PAC commitment in a single midterm cycle is substantial by any measure: Anthropic is channelling revenue from commercial AI products into electoral politics to influence the legislative framework that will govern its own industry.