How American Political Campaigns Are Using AI—and What They’re Spending on the Tools
US filings show at least $17 million spent on AI vendors across 523 federal campaigns since 2020.
US campaign-finance disclosures show at least $17 million spent on AI technology vendors across 523 federal candidates and committees since 2020. Since 2024, at least 80 federal campaigns reported about $50,000 with OpenAI, mostly ChatGPT subscriptions, while at least 65 reported paying Anthropic in 2026, nearly two-to-one Democratic. Specialized political tools account for more money, including $4.7 million to AmplifAI in the 2022 cycle and continued 2026 spending on Daisychain, Campaign Nucleus, and Prompt.io. Across California, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Washington, about $92,000 has gone to generative AI vendors since 2022, with 2026 already about ten times all of 2024.