Key Takeaways
- Two rival AI‑focused super PACs—Leading the Future (pro‑light‑touch regulation) and Public First Action (pro‑AI safety)—have each spent more than $2 million on ads backing Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds.
- Despite opposing policy views, the groups agree that large financial contributions buy access to elected officials, a classic Washington influence tactic.
- Donalds, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has signaled sympathy for both a light‑touch federal AI standard and state‑level protections for children, keeping his position deliberately ambiguous.
- The spending surge in Florida mirrors a earlier $23 million battle in a New York City Democratic congressional primary, showing the AI industry’s broader strategy to shape upcoming regulatory debates.
- Political analysts warn that the candidates elected in 2024 will likely determine the trajectory of AI regulation as voter demand for action grows.
Background of the AI Super PACs’ Florida Gambit
The artificial‑intelligence industry’s political machines, which have been clashing over how to regulate the technology in primary elections across the United States, have adopted a new tactic in Florida: joining forces to back the same candidate. According to ad‑analytics firm Impact, two groups funded by feuding AI billionaires and their allies have each already spent more than $2 million on ads boosting US Representative Byron Donalds’ campaign for Florida governor. “The two opposing AI interests are trying to out‑spend each other,” said Bela Sullivan, a policy and research associate at government ethics group Issue One. “They might disagree on AI policy, but they agree money gets you in the room.”
Donalds’ Electoral Standing and Trump’s Endorsement
Donalds is the leading Republican candidate in both the party primary on Tuesday and the general election in November, positioning him to become an influential voice in the struggle over AI regulation. His campaign has been buoyed by an early endorsement from former President Donald Trump, which has given him a formidable polling lead over rivals such as Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins and investor James Fishback. Leading the Future’s Republican super PAC avoids any mention of AI in its ads, instead focusing on Trump’s endorsement of the Republican congressman. Leading the Future spokesperson Jesse Hunt said Donalds “understands that Florida’s future depends on embracing American innovation.”
Contrasting AI Policy Priorities of the Two PACs
Leading the Future, a super political action committee favoring light AI regulation backed by billionaires including venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, is in the unusual position of backing the same candidate as Public First Action, an AI‑safety‑focused group backed by Anthropic PBC chief executive officer Dario Amodei and other tech executives. Leading the Future has pledged to spend over $125 million to help industry‑friendly candidates prevail in November’s congressional races and announced plans to spend $5 million on Donalds’ behalf in February.
Public First, which says it has raised $80 million to support candidates who favor stricter AI oversight, has been spending millions to neutralize or counteract Leading the Future’s influence. Public First Action, a dark‑money group backed by Anthropic and other tech executives who favor AI safety guardrails, began spending in support of Donalds in mid‑July. The group’s ad lauds Donalds for “standing with Florida and against Washington” in the fight to protect children from AI harms. Former Utah Congressman Chris Stewart, who leads Public First’s Republican super PAC, said Donalds “has been unequivocal that states should have a role to play there, especially absent the federal government being more urgent in trying to lead on this.”
Donalds’ Ambiguous Stance on AI Regulation
Representatives of both AI super PACs claim Donalds, a business‑friendly conservative whose congressional district runs along the Gulf Coast of Southwest Florida, is sympathetic to their agenda. Yet he has maintained some ambiguity. In private conversations and questionnaires, Donalds has endorsed a light‑touch federal AI standard, a key priority for Leading the Future. His wife, conservative activist Erika Donalds, said in an Aug. 8 appearance on Fox Business that Washington should “get out of the way” so AI companies can quickly expand, echoing an industry talking point.
At the same time, Donalds has privately and publicly supported Governor Ron DeSantis’s approach, arguing that states need to step in to protect children from harms linked to AI—an argument advanced by Public First, which advocates for state‑by‑state AI protections. DeSantis, a rare Republican who has pushed for stronger AI regulation and backed an “AI Bill of Rights,” saw the measure fail in the state legislature this year. The state’s next governor will have to choose whether to take up DeSantis’s cause or side more closely with President Trump, who favors a light‑touch national standard on AI.
Historical Parallel: New York City Primary Battle
Earlier this year, the two political machines channeled a combined $23 million into a New York City Democratic congressional primary that became a proxy battle over who will control the future of AI. In that race, Leading the Future spent over $8 million opposing New York Assemblyman and AI safety advocate Alex Bores. Public First’s network spent over $15 million to defend him. Bores lost the race.
The Florida governors race, though on the same side, sees the two groups as two of the top spenders, outpacing Donalds’ Republican opponents and dominating the airwaves. Sullivan, with Issue One, said the spending is escalating because candidates elected this year will likely control the future of how AI is regulated as voters demand action on the emerging technology. “This is part of a broader effort to shape the political landscape before the most consequential AI‑related decisions have been made,” Sullivan said.
Campaign Pushback and Broader Spending Patterns
Gates McGavick, communications director for the Donalds campaign, pushed back on the idea that the wave of financial support could influence the candidate in favor of either side of the AI regulation battle. “Byron Donalds answers to no one but the people of Florida,” McGavick said.
Leading the Future and Public First are also spending on the same candidates in a handful of smaller races across the country, including in Oklahoma and New Jersey. However, the two AI super PACs are competing in South Florida’s Atlantic Coast 25th Congressional District, where Public First is supporting former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer in his Republican primary while Leading the Future supports his potential general‑election opponent, Democratic Representative Jared Moskowitz.
Conclusion: The Stakes for AI Regulation
The confluence of massive ad buys, contradictory policy signals, and a high‑profile Trump endorsement underscores how the AI industry is attempting to shape the regulatory environment before concrete federal or state rules are set. As Sullivan warned, the candidates who emerge victorious in 2024 will likely hold the levers that determine whether AI development proceeds under a light‑touch, innovation‑first framework or under tighter safeguards aimed at protecting consumers, especially children. The battle in Florida, therefore, is not merely a gubernatorial contest; it is a bellwether for the future direction of AI policy in the United States.
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-08-17/feuding-ai-billionaires-pour-millions-into-florida-race-to-shape-trumps-next-governor