AI PACs Have Dumped Nearly $1 Million Into an Obscure Senate Race

Major AI super PACs spent nearly $1 million for Republican Mike Rounds in South Dakota’s Senate race: $600,000 from Defend American Jobs and $215,000 from Anthropic, Google, and Microsoft affiliates. Rounds leads after the Democratic candidate withdrew. His campaign raised more from tech groups than local donors. The funding aligns with AI labs’ strategy to secure allies before upcoming AI regulation debates amid bipartisan concerns over state data-center cost-sharing legislation.