US companies spent $517 million on 2026 races
Spending by crypto, AI, and online betting firms has already surpassed the entire 2024 cycle.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
A smartphone screen displays the logos of OpenAI and Anthropic against a blurred backdrop of the American flag, symbolizing the intensifying competition in artificial intelligence between the two US-based companies in Tunis,Tunisia on June 17,2026. Photo by Imen Ben Youssef / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images
Photograph: Latin Times (embedded from source)
What this story says
- US companies spent $517 million on House and Senate races in the 15 months through the first quarter of 2026.
- This spending already exceeds the $461 million spent across the entire two-year 2024 cycle.
- The crypto, AI, and online betting industries account for at least $294 million of this corporate spending.
- AdImpact projects the full midterm cycle will reach approximately $11.6 billion in political advertising.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 12 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
60/100
Hype
20/100
12 sources · methodology
Missing from the right
None of the 12 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
A reader who follows the right would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.
US companies have spent $517 million on House and Senate races in the 15 months leading up to the first quarter of 2026. This figure surpasses the $461 million spent in the full 2024 cycle. At least $294 million of this corporate spending comes from the crypto, AI, and online betting industries. Political advertising research firm AdImpact projects the full midterm cycle will reach approximately $11.6 billion, exceeding the $11.2 billion spent in the 2023-2024 cycle.
This new wave of spending is driven by a different set of industries than in previous decades, according to campaign finance watchdogs and political strategists. These emerging sectors are deploying their wealth to influence policy and regulations as lawmakers consider increased scrutiny. Critics argue this spending amplifies niche interests and diverts attention from broader economic issues, while supporters contend it provides a voice for new industries.
Disagreements in reporting
The Tucson article states that Google co-founder Sergey Brin spent more than $106 million in California fighting a proposed wealth tax, while the Latin Times reports he spent over $106 million fighting a proposed California wealth tax and related measures.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated or centre-rated reports below mention the specific figure of $11.6 billion projected by AdImpact for the full midterm cycle's political advertising spend, although the Tucson report references AdImpact's projection for the total midterm cycle spending.
Coverage settled. We checked this 10 times and stopped on 27 Aug 2026, 23:45. The figures above are what it finished at.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
3 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports from Latin Times and Winston-Salem Journal highlighted the record-breaking corporate spending in the 2026 midterms, specifically naming the crypto, AI, and online betting industries as major contributors. Both reports noted that this spending already surpasses the total from the 2024 cycle. The Latin Times provided further detail on specific companies and PACs within these industries, such as Coinbase, Ripple, Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI, Anthropic, DraftKings, and FanDuel, and their respective spending figures. It also detailed the strategy of crypto groups like Fairshake and the emerging AI political money, as well as the intersection of industry cash with Latino political power in South Texas. The Winston-Salem Journal's report was a digest focusing on the overall spending figure.
Centre
9 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports from Tucson, Danville Register & Bee, The News Virginian, and Columbus Telegram focused on the headline figure of $517 million spent by US companies on House and Senate races in the 15 months through the first quarter of 2026. They noted that this amount exceeds the spending from the entire 2024 cycle and identified crypto, AI, and online betting as key industries involved. The Tucson report provided more in-depth information, naming specific billionaires and companies like Elon Musk and Meta, and quoting Rick Claypool of Public Citizen on the unprecedented scale of corporate spending and its potential impact on political discourse. It also mentioned AdImpact's projection for the total midterm advertising spend.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right ran this story. We watched the coverage until it stopped changing, and none appeared.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover US companies spent $517 million on 2026 races?
- Of the 12 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 25% are rated left, 75% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is US companies spent $517 million on 2026 races left or right?
- The story itself is neither. What can be counted is who has covered it, and 75% of the 12 rated outlets on it are rated centre — so far this is a story carried mostly by the centre. Coverage of this one has settled, so that is unlikely to move much now.
- Is the coverage of US companies spent $517 million on 2026 races biased?
- US companies spent $517 million on 2026 races is one event reported by 12 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting US companies spent $517 million on 2026 races?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered US companies spent $517 million on 2026 races?
- 12 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How much have US companies spent on the 2026 election cycle so far?
- US companies have spent $517 million on House and Senate races in the 15 months leading up to the first quarter of 2026. This figure already surpasses the $461 million spent across the entire two-year 2024 cycle.
- Which industries are driving this record spending?
- The cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and online betting industries are the primary drivers of this increased corporate spending, accounting for at least $294 million of the total.
- What is the projected total spending for the midterm cycle?
- AdImpact projects that the full midterm cycle will reach approximately $11.6 billion in political advertising. This figure is expected to surpass the $11.2 billion record set during the 2023-2024 cycle.
Read it at the source
12 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
3- Crypto, AI and betting firms fuel record elections spending (opens News & Record in a new tab)
News & Record — is News & Record biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Crypto, AI and betting firms fuel record elections spending (opens Winston-Salem Journal in a new tab)
Winston-Salem Journal — is Winston-Salem Journal biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Inside the AI, Crypto and Betting Cash Industries Bankrolling the 2026 Midterms — and Texas Is Ground Zero (opens Latin Times in a new tab)
Latin Times — is Latin Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
9- Crypto, AI and betting firms fuel record elections spending (opens OANow.com in a new tab)
- Crypto, AI and betting firms fuel record elections spending (opens The Press of Atlantic City in a new tab)
The Press of Atlantic City — is The Press of Atlantic City biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Crypto, AI and betting firms fuel record elections spending (opens The Billings Gazette in a new tab)
The Billings Gazette — is The Billings Gazette biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Crypto, AI and betting firms fuel record elections spending (opens The Daily Progress in a new tab)
The Daily Progress — is The Daily Progress biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Crypto, AI and betting firms fuel record elections spending (opens The Times of Northwest Indiana in a new tab)
- Crypto, AI and betting firms fuel record elections spending (opens Columbus Telegram in a new tab)
Columbus Telegram — is Columbus Telegram biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Crypto, AI and betting firms fuel record elections spending (opens The News Virginian in a new tab)
The News Virginian — is The News Virginian biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Crypto, AI and betting firms fuel record elections spending (opens Danville Register & Bee in a new tab)
Danville Register & Bee — is Danville Register & Bee biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
How did this read?
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