Crypto, AI, betting giants flood 2026 US midterms with cash

Crypto companies, artificial intelligence firms and online betting businesses are emerging as major forces in US corporate political spending ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, as a new generation of wealthy executives seeks to influence regulation and policy in Washington, Reuters reports.

US companies spent a record $517 million on House and Senate races during the 15 months through the end of the first quarter, surpassing the $461 million spent over the entire two-year 2024 election cycle, according to Public Citizen.

“The scale of corporate spending in this election cycle is unlike anything we’ve seen previously,” said Rick Claypool, research director at Public Citizen.

Crypto, technology and online gaming companies accounted for at least $294 million of corporate spending on congressional races between January 2025 and the end of the first quarter, the watchdog found.

The industries have increasingly relied on super PACs, affiliated PACs and dark-money nonprofits to channel political contributions. While such groups cannot directly coordinate with candidates, they can finance advertising, voter mobilization efforts and campaign events.

The surge comes as lawmakers intensify scrutiny of emerging industries, including efforts to regulate cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, data-center energy consumption and online gambling.

Critics warn that the influx of corporate money could push issues favored by niche industries ahead of concerns such as healthcare and household costs.

“When corporate money can inundate the political discourse, there’s less room for talk about what people really care about,” Claypool said. “Instead, you have the situation that we have in Congress now where they are spending an inordinate amount of time discussing the niche regulatory policy problems related to crypto while people really just want cheaper groceries.”

Individual billionaires are also spending heavily. SpaceX founder Elon Musk has already put more than $90 million toward the 2026 federal elections, while Google co-founder Sergey Brin spent more than $106 million on California political issues.

Overall political advertising spending is expected to reach a record $11.6 billion for the midterms, according to AdImpact, exceeding the previous $11.2 billion record set in 2023–2024.

By Vafa Guliyeva