Anthropic is injecting $20 million into Public First Action, a group seeking to elect candidates who favor stricter oversight of artificial intelligence ahead of the 2026 elections. Led by former lawmakers Brad Carson and Chris Stewart, the group plans to support 30 to 50 candidates from both parties and to raise $50 million to $75 million, starting with ad buys for Republicans Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee and Sen. Pete Ricketts in Nebraska. The move positions Anthropic against Silicon Valley donors backing “Leading the Future,” a pro-AI group that has raised about $125 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman. Anthropic says guardrails are needed to manage AI risks, a stance criticized by Trump administration AI and crypto czar David Sacks as regulatory capture. The funding push comes as the White House advances a unified federal framework for AI oversight, curbing state-level initiatives.
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