How AI, crypto and AIPAC are ending political careers

Axios Axios —

AI companies, the cryptocurrency industry and https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2026/03/04/super-pacs-for-ai-crypto-and-israel-flood-illinois-congressional-races" target="_blank">pro-Israel groups are spending like never before to sink their least favorite members of Congress and congressional candidates.

Why it matters: The volume cannot be ignored.

It's the kind of spending that can kill careers and stop political movements in their tracks.

By the numbers: Eight of the 12 top outside spenders in House primaries this cycle are PACs affiliated with crypto, AI or pro-Israel groups, an Axios analysis of FEC data found.

That includes the top four:

Zoom out: The only entities that can really compete with these levels of spending are the two parties' main super PACs, the Democrats' House Majority PAC and the Republicans' Congressional Leadership Fund.

  • These groups rarely spend large sums in primaries, however, focusing their energy on supporting battleground-district candidates in the general election.
  • The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has https://www.axios.com/2026/05/26/democrats-house-races-2026-galindo-villegas-bains" target="_blank">gotten involved in a few primaries, but only to protect its chosen candidates from what it alleges is GOP meddling.
  • That leaves House primaries open for outside groups to flood the zone with as much spending as they deem necessary to get their preferred candidates over the finish line.

Between the lines: House members and candidates targeted by this spending have tried to make the groups' presence the big issue in their primaries, but the tactic has had mixed results.

What they're saying: Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) told Axios in a phone interview Thursday that "people want to campaign on" these PACs spending against them, but "quite frankly, I don't think that many people are ... moved by it."

  • Lawmakers and candidates "like the idea that people are moved by it, and ... like the romanticism that people are moved by it," he said, "but I don't think people really give a sh*t."
  • Veasey said he, like many of his Democratic colleagues, wants to eliminate big money in politics, but "people have to figure out how to work in that world ... and be realistic."

Yes, but: Some aren't convinced that this spending adds up to an unstoppable behemoth.

  • "You don't have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars if your candidates or policies are popular," said Usamah Andrabi, a spokesperson for the left-wing https://www.axios.com/2025/01/14/justice-democrats-primary-challenges-jeffries" target="_blank">Justice Democrats — which often finds itself on the opposite end of this spending.
  • Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said AIPAC has "overplayed its hand" with its heavy-handed involvement in Democratic primaries in recent cycles, arguing that it will "take a long time for them to rebuild their credibility."

What to watch: These groups aren't nearly done yet, with plenty of primaries still ahead.

  • Maryland's 5th District: UDP and Protect Progress have both spent heavily in the race to replace former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

    Both are backing Hoyer-endorsed state Del.

    Adrian Boafo.

  • New York's 12th District: While drawing millions in opposition from Think Big — whose donors include OpenAI — Bores has received support from Anthropic-backed Jobs and Democracy PAC, as well as crypto-aligned PAC You Can Push Back.

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