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  • Molly Whitemolly0xfff@hachyderm.io
    Nov 4, 2026, 4:03 AM

    Democrat Manny Rutinel projected to win Colorado District 8. That’s a win for the Anthropic-linked Public First AI industry super PAC network, which spent $600,000 to oppose Republican Gabe Evans. Chris Larsen’s You Can Push Back PAC also backed Rutinel with almost $1M in the primary.

    #USpol #USpolitics #midterms #Colorado

    Money involved in this election Manny Rutinel (D): Raised $9.46M, $6.88M in outside spending to support ($977k from AI PACs), $5.88M in outside spending to oppose Gabe Evans (R): Raised $7.25M, $2.44M in outside spending to support, $10.1M in outside spending to oppose ($599k from AI PACs) Shannon Bird (D): Raised $2.37M, $928k in outside spending to support, $1.93M in outside spending to oppose Evan Munsing (D): Raised $623k Spending by crypto- and AI-focused committees You Can Push Back AI Total spending $976,940 to support Manny Rutinel in the primary Jobs and Democracy PAC AI Total spending $599,445 to oppose Gabe Evans in the general election
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  • Molly Whitemolly0xfff@hachyderm.io
    Nov 4, 2026, 4:09 AM

    Dem James Talarico projected to win Texas Senate! That’s a loss for crypto, and particularly the Winklevoss twins’ Digital Freedom Fund, which made last-minute $515K expenditures for Paxton and against Talarico. Cantor Fitzgerald-funded Fellowship PAC also supported Paxton with $500K in the runoff.

    #USpol #USpolitics #midterms #Texas #TXSen

    Money involved in this election James Talarico (D): Raised $146M ($39.9k from industry donors), $58.1M in outside spending to support, $221M in outside spending to oppose ($514k from crypto PACs) Ken Paxton (R): Raised $22.3M ($42.5k from industry donors), $95M in outside spending to support ($853k from crypto PACs), $122M in outside spending to oppose John Cornyn (R): Raised $14.3M ($213k from industry donors), $6.64M in outside spending to support, $4.33M in outside spending to oppose Jasmine Crockett (D): Raised $11.1M, $749k in outside spending to support, $4.48M in outside spending to oppose Wesley Hunt (R): Raised $2.15M ($33.5k from industry donors), $934k in outside spending to support, $13M in outside spending to oppose Spending by crypto- and AI-focused committees Digital Freedom Fund crypto Total spending $867,718 to support Ken Paxton in the general election $353,338 to oppose James Talarico in the general election Fellowship PAC crypto Total spending $500,000 to support Ken Paxton in the primary runoff
    💬 1🔄 29⭐ 94
  • Molly Whitemolly0xfff@hachyderm.io
    Nov 4, 2026, 4:29 AM

    Loss for AI and crypto PACs: Democrat Shomari Figures wins in Alabama’s 2nd. Crypto abandoned Figures after supporting him in 2024; this cycle, Cynthia Lummis-associated First Principles Digital spent $200K against him/for Rhett Marques. AI also supported Marques with $960K from the Anthropic-linked Public First network.

    #USpol #USpolitics #midterms #Alabama

    Money involved in this election Shomari Figures (D): Raised $2.71M ($61.4k from industry donors), $4.44M in outside spending to support, $3.24M in outside spending to oppose ($102k from crypto PACs) Rhett Marques (R): Raised $1.72M, $5.09M in outside spending to support ($102k from crypto PACs, $960k from AI PACs), $2.75M in outside spending to oppose Hampton Harris (R): Raised $255k, $1.08k in outside spending to oppose Spending by crypto- and AI-focused committees Defending Our Values AI Total spending $959,904 to support Rhett Marques in the primary First Principles Digital crypto Total spending $203,190 to support Rhett Marques in the general election $101,595 to oppose Shomari Figures in the general election $101,595
    💬 1🔄 14⭐ 47
  • Molly Whitemolly0xfff@hachyderm.io
    Nov 4, 2026, 4:38 AM

    HUGE loss for crypto super PACs: $64 million down the drain as Democrat Sherrod Brown wins against John Husted in the Ohio Senate race. This was more than 1/3 of all crypto spending this cycle. $56.5M from flagship crypto PAC Fairshake, $7.5M from Winklevosses’ Digital Freedom Fund.

    influence.citationneeded.news/

    From my newsletter today (citationneeded.news/2026-elect):

    #USpol #USpolitics #midterms #Ohio #OHSen

    Brown has maintained a narrow lead in recent polls, by between 1.7 and 3.1 points according to several polling aggregators.6 If he wins, it would be the most expensive — and humiliating — failure in crypto’s brief campaign finance history. It would also undercut the message the industry has worked hard to send. “This is what happens when you mess with the crypto army,” Cameron Winklevoss gloated after Brown’s loss in 2024.4 Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wrote, “DC received a clear message that being anti-crypto is a good way to end your career.”7 The crypto industry’s stranglehold on Congress depends on that threat being believable. A Republican crypto lobbyist speaking to Politico warned that if Brown wins, “it is going to further neuter Fairshake’s perceived Sword of Damocles that they hang over candidates.”5
    💬 1🔄 69⭐ 127
  • Molly Whitemolly0xfff@hachyderm.io
    Nov 4, 2026, 4:44 AM

    Loss for conservative, Heritage-linked pro-AI group Alliance for a Better Future as Dem Adam Hamilton wins against Roger Marshall in Kansas Senate race. It was a relatively small outlay: just $81,000 for an ad promoting AI but warning AOC/Bernie will make AI regulations “for their benefit”.

    #USpol #USpolitics #midterms #Kansas

    💬 1🔄 16⭐ 65
  • Molly Whitemolly0xfff@hachyderm.io
    Nov 4, 2026, 4:57 AM

    Another loss for crypto and AI: Dem Josh Turek takes the Iowa Senate. Winklevosses’ DFF spent $700K to oppose Turek and support Ashley Hinson; conservative pro AI Alliance for the Better Future spent $171K on Hinson.

    #USpol #USpolitics #midterms #Iowa

    💬 1🔄 15⭐ 58
  • Molly Whitemolly0xfff@hachyderm.io
    Nov 4, 2026, 5:00 AM

    BTW: I am not just singling out losses in this thread. I’m posting about all competitive races where crypto and AI PACs spent on the general.

    It’s just that they are getting wrecked across the board so far. Out of 8 that have been called, only CO-8 went their way: a fairly low-$ outlay on a Dem.

    #USpol #USpolitics #midterms

    Bar chart of crypto and AI super PAC money in competitive general election races (rated Toss-up or Lean), with 7 of 16 races called. $70.2 million (76%) was on the losing side, $714,000 (1%) was on the winning side, and $21.5 million (23%) is in races not yet called. Bar chart of crypto and AI super PAC money that backed the underdog in general election races rated Likely or Solid. There was 1 such race and it has been called. All $706,000 was on the losing side.
    💬 1🔄 52⭐ 141
  • Molly Whitemolly0xfff@hachyderm.io
    Nov 4, 2026, 5:33 AM

    Another loss for AI: In the Senate race for Maine, Democrat Troy Jackson beats longtime incumbent Susan Collins. The Heritage-linked Alliance for a Better Future spent $810,000 to back her. Crypto PACs were conspicuously absent in this race, likely because of her recent vote against the Clarity Act.

    #USpol #USpolitics #midterms #Maine #MESen

    AI has been an issue in the Maine race — in particular, opposition to data centers coming to Maine and out-of-state billionaire tech donors’ influence on its politics. A recent, headline-making interruption to a debate between Collins and Jackson came from a man interjecting, “I’m terrified! AI data centers are destroying our climate. They’re poisoning our water.”27 (The headlines that followed were less about his concerns than about the candidates’ reactions: Collins blamed the outburst on Jackson’s campaign, and Jackson fired back, “Oh, shaddup. I don’t even know that kid.”) AI and out-of-state-billionaire money has indeed come into the race to back Collins. The same conservative pro-AI advocacy group that backed Rogers, the Alliance for a Better Future, has also supported Collins with $810,000.
    As for crypto, it’s more the lack of money that’s noteworthy. The crypto sector is desperate to keep a Republican majority in the Senate, and Maine is one of the most at-risk Republican seats on the map. But Collins cast one of the three Republican “no” votes in the Clarity Act cloture vote, and the only one from a Republican up for re-election [I110]. As I wrote then, she probably decided that giving up potentially millions of dollars in crypto super PAC support was worth it to avoid defending a vote for a bill with meager ethics provisions, in a state fired up about Trump’s corruption. And it’s not as though she’s hurting for money: GOP spending has poured into the race without crypto’s help.
    💬 1🔄 27⭐ 82
  • Molly Whitemolly0xfff@hachyderm.io
    Nov 4, 2026, 5:57 AM

    Big crypto loss: In Wisconsin District 1, Democrat Mitchell Berman beats incumbent Bryan Steil, who chairs the House Financial Services subcommittee on digital assets. Fairshake spent $1M on Steil, Crypto​.com spent $880K on attack ads against Berman via a PAC created solely to oppose him.

    #USpol #USpolitics #midterms #Wisconsin

    💬 1🔄 29⭐ 69
  • Molly Whitemolly0xfff@hachyderm.io
    Nov 4, 2026, 6:38 AM

    AI-focused Public First super PAC network spent $512,000 to support Brian Poindexter in Ohio District 7’s Democratic primary, though not in the general. Poindexter has just beaten Republican incumbent Max Miller.

    #USpol #USpolitics #midterms #Ohio

    💬 1🔄 9⭐ 29
  • Molly Whitemolly0xfff@hachyderm.io
    Nov 4, 2026, 6:41 AM

    In Texas District 35, AI and crypto succeeded in boosting Republican Carlos De La Cruz through his primary only to see him defeated by Democrat Johnny Garcia. AI’s Public First network spent $1.5 million in the primary and primary runoff; crypto’s Fairshake contributed $616K in the primary.

    #USpol #USpolitics #midterms #Texas

    💬 1🔄 22⭐ 58
  • Molly Whitemolly0xfff@hachyderm.io
    Nov 4, 2026, 7:34 AM

    Another loss for crypto and AI: Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has beaten Mike Rogers in Michigan’s Senate race. Crypto PACs spent $811,000 backing Rogers and an AI group added just over $1 million. El-Sayed has been an outspoken advocate for strong AI and data center regulation.

    #USpol #USpolitics #midterms #Michigan

    💬 1🔄 61⭐ 162
  • Molly Whitemolly0xfff@hachyderm.io
    Nov 4, 2026, 7:43 AM

    The conservative AI group Alliance for a Better Future, whose advisory council includes members of the Heritage Foundation, the anti-porn group NCOSE, the Institute for Family Studies, and the effective altruist-aligned Future of Life Institute, is officially 0 for 4 after its candidates lost in Maine, Iowa, Kansas, and Michigan.

    #USpol #USpolitics #midterms

    Chart titled “By candidate” showing Alliance for a Better Future’s spending across 4 races, $2.1 million total, all supporting Republican Senate candidates: Mike Rogers in Michigan, $1,065,046 (50%); Susan Collins in Maine, $810,294 (38%); Ashley Hinson in Iowa, $170,946 (8%); and Roger Marshall in Kansas, $80,832 (4%).
    Alliance for a Better Future A Better Future It's time for an American renewal and SI can power it. We need to build SI for American families, shaped by American faith, and securing our American freedoms. Technology can protect our children, empower workers, and strengthen our nation if we have the courage to govern and guide it.
    💬 1🔄 59⭐ 149
  • Molly Whitemolly0xfff@hachyderm.io
    Nov 4, 2026, 8:33 AM

    Crypto secures its first win in a competitive race as Nebraska Senate is called for Pete Ricketts (R) over independent Dan Osborn. Ricketts sits on the Senate Banking Committee, likely why the industry wanted him over Osborn (who has also spoken positively of crypto). $14.1M in spending.

    #USpol #USpolitics #midterms #Nebraska

    Money involved in this election Dan Osborn (I): Raised $11M, $13.4M in outside spending to support, $32.4M in outside spending to oppose ($13.5M from crypto PACs) Pete Ricketts (R): Raised $14.5M ($187k from industry donors), $2.16M in outside spending to support ($350k from crypto PACs, $263k from AI PACs), $23.8M in outside spending to oppose Cindy Burbank (D): Raised $48.6k, $422k in outside spending to support William Forbes (D): Raised $1k, $63.3k in outside spending to oppose Todd Knobel (R): Spending by crypto- and AI-focused committees Defend American Jobs crypto Total spending $13,476,276 to oppose Dan Osborn in the general election $13,476,276 Fellowship PAC crypto Total spending $350,000 to support Pete Ricketts in the primary $350,000 Defending Our Values AI Total spending $262,625 to support Pete Ricketts in the primary $262,625
    💬 1🔄 11⭐ 32
  • Molly Whitemolly0xfff@hachyderm.io
    Nov 4, 2026, 9:05 AM

    Looks like this is more or less all we’ll get for a while and it’s 4am for me, so I’m going to call it a night and check back in in the morning (and send out a quick recap of tonight’s events for my newsletter subscribers: www.citationneeded.news/signup/)

    All I can say is: what a wipeout for crypto & AI.

    #USpol #USpolitics #midterms

    Election results: 54 of 68 general elections with crypto or AI super PAC money have been called. Three bars show the super PAC money in each kind of race, drawn to scale, and split by whether it ended up on the winning side, the losing side, or is still waiting on a call. Competitive races, the longest bar by far: $92.4 million. Goal achieved in 2 races and failed in 9. $14.2 million was on the winning side, $74 million on the losing side, and $4.2 million is not yet called. Likely winners: $8.3 million. Goal achieved in 2 races and failed in none. $1.3 million was on the winning side and $6.9 million is not yet called. Backing the winners: $10.6 million. Goal achieved in 40 races and failed in none. $9.6 million was on the winning side and $976,000 is not yet called.
    💬 0🔄 89⭐ 193