The Coming War Over AI Will Define The 2026 Midterms

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks at an impromptu press conference on recent election results, in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 5, 2025. Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

The rapid deployment of artificial intelligence is quickly becoming one of the central issues of the 2026 midterm elections, with battle lines over the disruptive technology splitting both parties’ coalitions and the tech industry itself.

Dueling super PACs are threatening to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to advance their respective visions of AI, while a grassroots backlash against data centers across the country is fueling a populist pushback against the technology. The cross-cutting forces could quickly make arguments about how AI will impact jobs, energy prices, privacy and children’s safety a focal point for primaries across the country.

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“Mark Zuckerberg had a 10-year time in the sun before everyone realized that there were harms associated with social media,” said Alex Bores, a Democratic New York assemblyman and congressional candidate whose work on a state-level law regulating the technology has made him the first declared target of a pro-AI super PAC. “With AI, it’s happening a lot quicker. And so there’s many, many elected officials who are hearing from our neighbors about the need to give Americans a voice in the development of AI.”

Three distinct camps are emerging to argue over the technology, with members of each group existing in both parties: There are industry forces with an essentially accelerationist view of the technology, arguing that any attempt to restrict it risks the United States losing an all-important battle with China. These groups are closely allied with the White House, which has embraced a pro-industry vision of light regulation, and have spun up a super PAC with plans to spend $100 million.

There’s also a populist backlash, with Sen.