AI-Backed Super PACs Flood South Dakota Senate Race With Nearly $1M

Super PACs bankrolled by artificial intelligence companies and prominent tech investors have channeled close to one million dollars into incumbent Republican Mike Rounds's reelection bid in South Dakota—a state where the Senate race was already considered noncompetitive. The influx reveals how AI firms are strategically deploying political money to protect their legislative interests during a pivotal moment for regulation.

The Money Trail#

Rounds has benefited from roughly $600,000 in independent spending, with the largest share coming from Defend American Jobs, a super PAC backed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Additionally, he has pulled in approximately $215,000 directly from employees and PACs affiliated with AI companies—chiefly Anthropic, but also Google and Microsoft, according to FEC filings.

A particularly striking detail: Rounds has raised more campaign support from tech groups than from his own state's donors, underscoring how far outside money has penetrated a local race.

Why Rounds?#

AI executives have zeroed in on Rounds as a dependable ally on industry-friendly policies. With Congress expected to prioritize AI regulation in the next term, having sympathetic voices on Capitol Hill could prove vital for companies seeking favorable rather than restrictive rules. The senator has gained a reputation among tech lobbyists as someone inclined to support the industry's preferred approach to oversight.

At the same time, major AI PACs including Leading the Future—backed by OpenAI president Greg Brockman, investor Ben Horowitz, and Marc Andreesen—announced plans to spend $2 million on a slate of Senate Republicans aligned with AI or cryptocurrency interests, of which Rounds is one example.

Data Centers: A Local Fault Line#

The South Dakota race also hinges on a hyperlocal issue that has national implications: the battle over data centers. Earlier this year, the state legislature passed measures requiring large data center operators to absorb more of the environmental costs—specifically water and energy consumption—rather than having taxpayers shoulder the burden.

The issue became heated when lawmakers rejected tax incentives for data center equipment and software, effectively blocking a planned facility by Applied Digital. Rounds ultimately endorsed adding restrictions, though his former chief of staff, Robert Skjonsberg (now a registered Meta lobbyist on South Dakota matters), maintains connections to the industry—a potential conflict that Rounds's office says was cleared by the Senate ethics committee.