AI Political Action Committees Have Invested Close to $1 Million in a Little-Known Senate Contest

Significant super PACs linked to AI laboratories and investors have invested nearly $1 million into incumbent Republican Mike Rounds’s South Dakota senate campaign, aiming to influence the outcome of an otherwise noncompetitive race in the context of a crucial national discussion on AI regulation.

This election cycle, Rounds has received around $600,000 in contributions from outside organizations, primarily from the super PAC Defend American Jobs, which is funded by a super PAC backed by the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

Additionally, he has garnered approximately $215,000 in direct contributions from employees and super PACs associated with AI laboratories, particularly Anthropic, along with a range of other tech entities, including Google and Microsoft, as per FEC records.

With less than 50 days remaining until the midterm elections in November, recent surveys indicate that Rounds is leading against independent candidate Brian Beng following the withdrawal of Democratic candidate Julian Beaudion last month.

So far, Rounds has attracted more support from tech organizations than from local South Dakota donors, reflecting a burgeoning strategy by AI labs to leverage large funds to influence complex issues surrounding AI and its supporting data centers. Rounds is seen by AI executives as a crucial ally for the industry, which may play an important role in the upcoming Congress, where AI regulation is anticipated to become a significant focus, according to congressional aides familiar with the situation.

This trend also highlights the increasing emphasis of AI labs on retaining allies, which are becoming scarce on Capitol Hill as lawmakers initiate a wave of legislation responding to public concerns regarding AI safety.

A representative for Rounds did not reply to a request for comment.

On Thursday, Leading the Future, the super PAC partially funded by OpenAI president Greg Brockman, alongside investors Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen, declared its commitment of $2 million towards a group of Senate Republicans who have supported the AI or cryptocurrency sectors, including Rounds.

In South Dakota, AI regulation is already a pressing matter following the passage of a bill earlier this year that mandates hyperscalers to assume a larger share of the water and energy expenses tied to powering data centers.

Data centers have sparked significant controversy among Republicans in the state legislature, which opposed offering tax incentives for equipment and software purchases needed by data centers earlier this year, hindering the development of a planned project by Applied Digital, a company specializing in data center construction and design.

Rounds eventually supported imposing restrictions on data centers, despite his senior aide and former chief of staff, Robert Skjonsberg, being a registered lobbyist for Meta regarding issues before the South Dakota legislature. (Meta manages a network of data centers, although no Meta-affiliated center currently exists in South Dakota.) Rounds’ office informed Politico that their general counsel consulted the Senate ethics committee about this unique relationship and was advised that no conflict of interest existed.

Concerns regarding data centers have garnered bipartisan attention across the nation: A recent Gallup poll found that 70% of Americans are opposed to data center development due to their significant demands on water and energy resources, which local communities often end up subsidizing.