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FIRST ON FOX — A political group backed by leading AI companies and innovators is starting to dip into its formidable war chest to back candidates in competitive primaries in this year’s midterm elections.
Fox News Digital has learned that the group, called Leading the Future, is infusing half a million dollars to launch an ad blitz in support of former Defense Department official Laurie Buckhout, who is running in next month’s GOP primary in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District in the race to challenge incumbent Democratic Rep. Donald Davis.
The ad buy is the first major campaign spending by Leading the Future, which is backed financially in a personal capacity by OpenAI President and Co-founder Greg Brockman and his wife Anna, as well as Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm that is a major investor in OpenAI.
Leading the Future announced recently that it and associated organizations had raised over $125 million in commitments and had over $70 million cash on hand at the start of this year.
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The groups say the infusion of money into the North Carolina primary, where early voting begins next week, is just an appetizer.
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“This is only the beginning of what we expect will be sustained engagement at both the state and federal levels throughout the 2026 cycle,” Leading the Future co-strategists Zac Moffatt and Joe Vlasto said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
They emphasized, “It is critical that we identify and support lawmakers who recognize the urgency of this moment and the responsibility policymakers have to enact a national regulatory framework that ensures the United States remains the global leader in AI innovation, wins the race against China and protects the safety of kids, users and communities.”
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They pledged, “As more candidates emerge to champion policies that harness the economic benefits of AI and reject attempts to hinder American innovation, Leading the Future will stand alongside them as a committed supporter.”
Two of those races where Leading the Future plans to play are in Illinois.
The group plans to spend seven figures in the open-seat Democratic primary in Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District, in support of former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and in the state’s 8th Congressional District, where they’re backing former Rep. Melissa Bean.
Among the other AI-world initial contributors to Leading the Future are Joe Lonsdale, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist who co-founded companies including Palantir Technologies, Addepar, and OpenGov, and co-founded and works as the managing partner at the technology investment firm 8VC, and Ron Conway, a venture capitalist and philanthropist who is co-founder of SV Angel.
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