Big AI Is Trying To Buy An Open Washington Congressional Seat

The AI industry is spending big money this midterm election to fill congress with as many corporate shills as possible and two of them are here in Washington State. The industry’s best-funded super PAC, Leading The Future, ponied up $288,000 to help re-elect Rep. Marilyn Strickland and a whopping $788,000 to buy the open seat in Central Washington for Republican candidate Amanda McKinney. 

And corporations don’t throw that kind of cash around without expecting something in return. In this case, Leading The Future wants to elect bulwarks against regulation of AI so tech billionaires keep getting richer — even if those profits come at the expense of our environment, our safety, or the overall well being of working people. 

Leading The Future is the largest industry-backed PAC supporting anti-regulation candidates, raising more than $75 million for the midterms as of the end of June. The donors include the who's who of the Silicon Valley tech elite, private equity firm Andreessen Horowitz, Open AI co-founder Greg Brockman, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, SV Angel Founder Ron Conway and AI software company Perplexity. (As an aside: Earlier this week, Brockman publicly dropped plans to donate a second $25 million contribution to the PAC, signaling just how toxic it is to associate with the anti-regulation super PAC.)

According to FEC filings compiled by big tech watchdog AI Money Watch, Leading The Future  spent an incredible $779,341 campaigning for McKinney through American Mission, the super PAC’s affiliate PAC supporting Republican candidates. That huge sum, spent mostly on paid media, likely helped boost McKinney’s profile, giving her an edge over her competitors in the crowded open primary for Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse’s old seat. 

This race is likely attractive for big tech because central Washington is rapidly becoming a data center hub. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, central Washington is one of the fast-growing markets for data centers in North America with inventory doubling last year. This is largely due to the region’s access to clean and inexpensive hydroelectric power, seismic stability, moderate climate, and the vast swaths of relatively cheap land. Big tech wants someone who will allow them to build, build, build unhampered by a congress member regulating the industry on behalf of disgruntled central Washington locals.

Voters need look no further than her campaign website to understand what drew Leading The Future to McKinney. Under the tab “INNOVATION, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND AMERICAN LEADERSHIP” on the homepage of her website, McKinney’s campaign writes that she “supports innovation that strengthens American competitiveness, protects jobs, and safeguards national security.” Said more explicitly, “[McKinney] believes the United States must lead in artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, not surrender leadership to China or other adversaries. Amanda opposes heavy-handed regulation that stifles innovation or drives jobs overseas.”

In public, McKinney has threaded the needle more delicately. According to the Tri-City Herald, McKinney said, “[a]s a congresswoman, I want to make sure that states and local government require the actual local community on the ground to not only have a say, but they have the final say” at a recent candidate forum. 

Voters in this district, which includes Yakima, the Tri-Cities, and Moses Lake, have another option come November: Democrat John Duresky. At that same recent forum, Duresky said “We need real guardrails around AI. This is dangerous stuff, and it is not clear what kind of protections we need. I don’t know today, but I’m ready to go find out.”

Duresky has an uphill battle to flip the district blue. Newhouse won his 2020 and 2022 election with more than 66% of the vote against a Democrat challenger. Duresky scored 29.9% to McKinney’s 34.8%. Most of the remaining vote share went to other Republicans, all but sealing the deal for District 4 to stay red. 

District 10 has even less of a chance of electing someone unbought by big AI. Leading The Future, via their Democrat-backing PAC Think Big, put $288,114 behind incumbent Strickland. She sailed through her primary and even with this unfortunate support from big tech, it's pretty safe to say her Republican opponent would do a worse job in D.C.. 

Strickland did not respond to requests for comment to defend her record or platform in regards to AI regulation. While she’s certainly a corporate Democrat, Strickland’s constituents can take some solace knowing she voted against the most bullish attempt to prevent AI regulation, an amendment to H.R. 1 that in effect would have prevented states receiving federal funds for broadband from regulating AI for the next decade. But don’t get too excited — every Democrat opposed that amendment and the industry power players still think some party members are still worth throwing money at!