Silicon Valley AI political groups turn on each other in the 2026 election

Protesters hold up "Freeze AI Now" signs outside OpenAI headquarters in San Francisco, Oct. 20, 2026.

Heather Diehl | Getty Images

Silicon Valley's bid to dominate artificial intelligence politics has devolved into a fight with itself.

With one week until the midterm election, political groups favoring faster AI development and lighter, more uniform rules have spent roughly $8 million in general-election congressional races, besting groups pushing for stronger safeguards and more room for states to regulate that have spent about $6.9 million, according to a CNBC analysis of Federal Election Commission filings through Oct. 20.

In Florida's 25th Congressional District, that split has produced a direct face-off. During the primary, Think Big, an affiliate of Leading the Future, the main super PAC network pushing faster AI development and lighter regulation, spent $310,000 supporting Democrat Jared Moskowitz, whose district changed after Florida redrew its congressional map ahead of the 2026 election. On the other side, Defending Our Values, a super PAC favoring stricter safety guardrails and state-level authority, dropped almost $857,000 to boost Republican Scott Singer and an additional $740,000 to keep one of his primary opponents from being elected.

Now, Moskowitz and Singer face off in the general election.

It's a microcosm of the breakdown in Silicon Valley's bid to build a unified AI political machine. Both sides favor AI innovation and agree on the need for guardrails, but they remain locked in a costly tug-of-war over which candidates to back — and which will best align with their preferred deployment speed, regulatory reach and balance of state power.

Electing more allies could give either camp an edge in shaping AI policy in the next Congress, even as the feud risks weakening Silicon Valley's clout.

The crypto playbook

This was not the plan. The model was cryptocurrency. 

The message was clear: Back AI's agenda or risk millions being spent against you.