{"id":531494,"date":"2026-03-18T20:46:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/531494\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T20:46:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:46:07","slug":"crypto-and-ai-firms-spend-big-in-illinois-primaries-and-lose-often","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/531494\/","title":{"rendered":"Crypto and AI firms spend big in Illinois primaries and lose often"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The artificial intelligence<\/a> and cryptocurrency<\/a> industries spent big and lost often in this week\u2019s Illinois primaries<\/a>, an early setback for technology firms that are trying to reshape the midterm elections and establish themselves as power players in American politics. <\/p>\n

The companies flooded the state\u2019s Democratic primaries with millions of dollars to promote candidates they believed would have a light touch when it came to regulating technologies that have begun to upend how people do their jobs and manage their finances. <\/p>\n

Using super PACs that are allowed to spend unlimited sums of money, they ran television advertising and distributed campaign fliers that only occasionally alluded to their industries. Instead, the messaging focused on promises to combat President Donald Trump\u2019s administration and support liberal policies, a strategy used by other organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But the coy strategy did not stop the AI and crypto industries\u2019 interventions from becoming a lightning rod in the rowdy primaries in Illinois, where there was a rare glut of open seats<\/a> that led to competitive races.<\/p>\n

The crypto-backed political action committee Fairshake spent more than $10 million against Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who ultimately won the Democratic nomination<\/a> to succeed Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. <\/p>\n

Fairshake and Protect Progress, which is also tied to the crypto industry, spent millions more to unsuccessfully support Stratton\u2019s main rivals, U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. <\/p>\n

In Illinois\u2019 U.S. House primaries, the tech-backed groups\u2019 campaign spending had mixed results.<\/p>\n

State Rep. La Shawn Ford, who had supported state legislation regulating the AI and crypto industries, won the Democratic primary to succeed U.S. Rep. Danny Davis. Fairshake spent nearly $2.5 million opposing Ford\u2019s candidacy in a race that featured at least four other political groups spending against the progressive lawmaker or for his opponents.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller prevailed in the Democratic primary to succeed Kelly after Fairshake spent more than $800,000 against state Sen. Robert Peters, another progressive who supported legislation to regulate the crypto industry. <\/p>\n

That race also saw the AI-backed spending at loggerheads.<\/p>\n

The AI-backed Think Big PAC invested more than $1 million to boost the candidacy of Jesse Jackson Jr., a former congressman who pleaded guilty<\/a> in a fraud scandal in 2013. But Jobs and Democracy PAC, another AI-backed group, also mounted about $1 million in negative campaign spending against Jackson during the race.<\/p>\n

Think Big is a subsidiary of Leading the Future, a political group that is funded by major Silicon Valley executives, including the venture capitalist Marc Andreessen<\/a>. Andreessen opposes federal regulations for AI and has been a staunch backer of the Republican president\u2019s AI policies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jobs and Democracy PAC, by contrast, is funded by the AI company Anthropic<\/a>, which favors some safety regulations on AI as the technology develops. Both PACs opposed progressive candidates who called for relatively heavy regulations on the technologies and higher taxes on wealthy Americans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a bright spot for the AI industry, former congresswoman Melissa Bean won the nomination to reclaim her old seat after a crowded and intense primary. Bean was supported by about $1 million in funding from AI-backed groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe recognizes that the United States must work toward a national regulatory framework on AI that creates jobs, helps us stay ahead of China, and protects the safety of kids, users, and the community,\u201d said Josh Vlasto, a political strategist for Leading the Future, an umbrella organization for AI political groups. \u201cLeading the Future was proud to support her campaign and looks forward to working with leaders who will prioritize innovation over doomerism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The late-stage infusions of cash into the Illinois races totaled almost $20 million across races and served as a declaration of both industries\u2019 political ambitions, raising the stakes in primaries that were already hotly contested.<\/p>\n

\u201cCorporate money is being used to paint corporate-backed candidates as fearless progressives,\u201d said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a political group that works to elect anti-corporate progressives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question for the Democratic Party is whether we elect people who actually believe in these positions or will we elect milquetoast candidates who give lip service to these values but don\u2019t back them in actual policy,\u201d Green said.<\/p>\n

Campaign finance experts and rank-and-file voters alike are still struggling with what to make of the technology industry\u2019s political influence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re so new to the game that public opinion isn\u2019t very well formed about them,\u201d said Brian Gaines, a political science professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. \u201cYou don\u2019t get a clear signal for who is the progressive and who is the moderate on AI and crypto policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are wary of the technology,\u201d Gaines said, \u201cbut they don\u2019t know what to think yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Maya Sweedler contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Follow the AP\u2019s coverage of the 2026 elections at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/elections<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency industries spent big and lost often in this week\u2019s Illinois…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531495,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[164749,150341,182,181,507,238917,28,10771,5905,238916,12,237957,1070,3502,5630,5629,8635,565,237950,12951,237942,73642,111,101012,11166,237944,237940,74],"class_list":["post-531494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-2026-elections","tag-adam-green","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-brian-gaines","tag-business","tag-campaign-finance","tag-cryptocurrency","tag-danny-k-davis","tag-donald-trump","tag-donna-miller","tag-elections","tag-gerald-ford","tag-il-state-wire","tag-illinois","tag-jesse-jackson","tag-jr","tag-juliana-stratton","tag-marc-andreessen","tag-melissa-bean","tag-political-action-committees","tag-politics","tag-raja-krishnamoorthi","tag-richard-durbin","tag-robert-peters","tag-robin-kelly","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}