Inside the AI, Crypto and Betting Cash Industries Bankrolling the 2026 Midterms — and Texas Is Ground Zero

Corporate donors poured $517 million into House and Senate races between January 2025 and the close of the first quarter of 2026 — a total that already exceeds the $461 million companies spent across the entire two-year 2024 cycle, according to figures compiled by the watchdog group Public Citizen. Three industries account for most of the jump: cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and online sports betting, whose combined giving has reached more than $294 million.

Layer in billionaire donors and union spending, and the picture gets bigger still. Ad-tracking firm AdImpact now projects the full midterm cycle will hit roughly $11.6 billion in political advertising, topping the $11.2 billion record set during 2023–2024. Some of the personal money behind that number is already public: Elon Musk has put more than $90 million toward this year's federal races, Google co-founder Sergey Brin has spent over $106 million fighting a proposed California wealth tax and related measures, and Meta has handed $65 million to four super PACs supporting candidates from both parties in state contests.