Corporations Pour Record-Smashing $737 Million Into 2026 Midterms
Current Cycle Contributions Are Up 60% Over Corporate Spending During the 2024 Presidential Election, Quadruple Previous Midterm Record. 2026 Represents 40% of $1.8 Billion in Corporate Spending Since Citizens United
Key Findings
- Federal campaign finance filings from late October show corporate political spending in the 2026 midterm elections has reached an unprecedented $737.3 million – a 60% increase over the 2024 presidential election, the previous record-breaking year, when corporations spent $461 million.
- This means the 2026 total so far is already more than 40% of the $1.8 billion that corporations have spent since the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC to allow direct corporate spending in federal elections.
- Cryptocurrency and online betting corporations continue to lead the surge along with Big Tech and businesses with interests in AI and data center development. Collectively, corporations in these sectors have contributed $391 million toward influencing the 2026 midterms – over half (53%) of the 2026 corporate spending surge.
- Crypto corporations have contributed $233 million;
- Online betting corporations have contributed $85.2 million; and
- Big Tech and others with interests in AI and data center development have contributed $73.1 million.
- The biggest beneficiary of these contributions is President Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC, which received $141 million from corporations, nearly one fifth (19%) of all corporate giving reported in the cycle so far.
- The biggest corporate contributor is the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which has given $72 million, primarily to super PACs opposing regulating artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies.
Note: Findings are based on Public Citizen analysis of 2010-2024 data obtained from OpenSecrets and 2026 U.S. Federal Election Commission data documenting contributions of $5,000 or more by for-profit corporations to super PACs and hybrid PACs. Not all corporate spending is reported to the Federal Election Commission. The totals likely undercount the true total sum of federal corporate election spending, which Dark Money groups enable corporations to conceal.
Analysis
Corporations have collectively spent $737.3 million to influence federal midterm elections – a 60% increase over the $461 million corporations spent over the entire 2024 election cycle and more than quadruple the $184.1 million spent by corporations during the previous midterms in 2022.
Over 40% of the total $1.8 billion in corporate spending to influence federal elections since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed such spending in 2010 has been made during the current election cycle (see Chart).
Chart: Corporate Political Spending in Federal Elections Since Citizens United
Source: Public Citizen analysis of OpenSecrets.org and FEC data through October 23, 2026
Most of the 2026 surge is attributable to technology corporations. Crypto, online betting, and tech corporations pushing AI and data centers contributed $391.3 million, or more than half (53%) of the corporate contributions disclosed to the FEC.
Table 1: Corporate Sectors and Corporate Supremacist Super PACs
| Corporate Sector | Total Corporate Contributions from Sector | Corporate Super PAC | Contributions to Corporate Super PAC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cryptocurrency | $233 million | Fairshake | $106.9 million |
| Online Betting | $85.2 million | Win for America | $80.7 million |
| Big Tech / AI | $73.1 million | Leading the Future | $50.1 million |
| Total | $391.3 million | -- | $237.7 million |
Source: Public Citizen analysis of OpenSecrets.org and FEC data through October 23, 2026
An unprecedented aspect of the 2026 midterms is the proliferation of corporate supremacist super PACs, which are structured prioritize the interests of their business backers over either major political party or any candidate (see Public Citizen’s previous report on corporate spending in the 2026 midterms). These super PACs follow the crypto sector’s 2024 playbook of engaging in both Democratic and Republican primaries and to support or attack candidates of either major party in the general election.
Corporations that have spent heavily in previous election cycles also engaged. Koch Inc., the privately held conglomerate long associated with its billionaire executives Charles and the late David Koch, spent $36.8 million, primarily toward the super PAC linked with Americans for Prosperity. Fossil fuel corporations, led by Energy Transfer and Chevron, collectively spent $51.4 million, and tobacco corporations, led by British American Tobacco subsidiary Reynolds American and Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris, spent $34.8 million. Corporate entities also are being used as a vehicle for political spending by the ultra-wealthy, including the billionaire Soros family, which used a corporation to channel $52 million (out of more than $100 million in political spending this cycle) into Democracy PAC, and Elon Musk, who used a corporate entity to channel $10 million (of his more than $400 million in political spending this cycle) into Lone Star Liberty PAC.
Table 2: Top 15 Corporate Super PAC Contributors in the 2026 Midterms
| Corporation | Contribution Total | Contribution Split | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andreessen Horowitz | $76.2 million | $50 million | Leading the Future |
| $23.8 million | Fairshake | ||
| $2.4 million | Congressional Leadership Fund | ||
| Geosor Corporation (Soros family entity) | $52 million | $52 million | Democracy PAC |
| Ripple Labs | $49.6 million | $48.5 million | Fairshake and affiliates |
| $1 million | Commonwealth Prosperity Fund | ||
| $100,000 | Congressional Leadership Fund | ||
| DraftKings | $39.9 million | $39.2 million | Win for America |
| $500,000 | Senate Leadership Fund PAC | ||
| $250,000 | New Leadership PAC | ||
| Crypto.com (Foris Dax) | $39 million | $35 million | MAGA Inc |
| $2.4 million | Keep America Great PAC | ||
| $740,000 | Senate Leadership Fund PAC | ||
| $513,000 | Wisconsin Working PAC | ||
| $400,000 | Fight on Iowa | ||
| Coinbase | $37.2 million | $33.1 million | Fairshake |
| $1 million | Senate Leadership Fund PAC | ||
| $1 million | Senate Majority PAC | ||
| $1 million | Congressional Leadership Fund | ||
| $1 million | House Majority PAC | ||
| $75,000 | Rolling Sea Action Fund | ||
| $50,000 | Bold America | ||
| Koch Inc. | $36.8 million | $30 million | Americans for Prosperity Action |
| $3.8 million | Senate Leadership Fund PAC | ||
| $3 million | Congressional Leadership Fund | ||
| Gemini and Winklevoss Capital Fund | $35.7 million | $21.3 million | Digital Freedom Fund |
| $14.3 million | MAGA Inc | ||
| Fanduel | $29 million | $27 million | Win for America |
| $500,000 | Senate Leadership Fund PAC | ||
| $500,000 | Senate Majority PAC | ||
| $500,000 | Congressional Leadership Fund | ||
| $500,000 | House Majority PAC | ||
| British American Tobacco (RAI Services, Reynolds American) | $17.9 million | $8 million | MAGA Inc |
| $5 million | Senate Leadership Fund PAC | ||
| $1.4 million | Congressional Leadership Fund | ||
| $1 million | NHA Action | ||
| $500,000 | The Sentinel Action Fund | ||
| $400,000 | Stronger Safer Nation | ||
| $400,000 | More Jobs, Less Government | ||
| $300,000 | Security is Strength PAC | ||
| $250,000 | Frontline Victory Fund Inc | ||
| $100,000 | America One | ||
| $100,000 | Big Red Action Fund | ||
| $100,000 | Defending NC PAC | ||
| $100,000 | Protect Their Future PAC | ||
| $100,000 | Texans for a Conservative Majority | ||
| $65,000 | Leadership in Action | ||
| $50,000 | Conservative Reform Fund | ||
| $50,000 | Free American Fund | ||
| $20,000 | Oklahoma Victory Committee | ||
| Energy Transfer | $15.9 million | $12.5 million | MAGA Inc |
| $1 million | Senate Leadership Fund PAC | ||
| $1 million | Congressional Leadership Fund | ||
| $1 million | Texans for a Conservative Majority | ||
| $100,000 | Association of Texas Conservatives | ||
| $100,000 | High Plains PAC | ||
| $25,000 | GLCF, Inc | ||
| $25,000 | Great Opportunity PAC | ||
| $25,000 | Minnesota Forward | ||
| $25,000 | Ohio Flyer PAC | ||
| $25,000 | Pine Tree Results PAC | ||
| Altria (Philip Morris) | $15.6 million | $7 million | Senate Leadership Fund PAC |
| $5.5 million | Congressional Leadership Fund | ||
| $1 million | MAGA Inc | ||
| $450,000 | The Sentinel Action Fund | ||
| $300,000 | America One | ||
| $250,000 | Security is Strength PAC | ||
| $200,000 | Pine Tree Results PAC | ||
| $100,000 | Center Forward Committee | ||
| $100,000 | GLCF, Inc | ||
| $100,000 | Keystone Renewal PAC | ||
| $100,000 | One PAC | ||
| $100,000 | Stronger Safer Nation | ||
| $100,000 | V-PAC: Victors, Not Victims | ||
| $65,000 | Commonwealth Conservative Coalition | ||
| $59,000 | Copper State Values | ||
| $35,000 | Leadership in Action | ||
| $30,000 | Club for Growth Action | ||
| $25,000 | Black Bear PAC | ||
| $25,000 | Free American Fund | ||
| $25,000 | Senate Majority PAC | ||
| $15,000 | DLGA | ||
| Cantor Fitzgerald | $10 million | $10 million | Fellowship PAC |
| Elon Musk Revocable Trust | $10 million | $10 million | Lone Star Liberty PAC |
| Chevron Corporation | $9 million | $4.7 million | Senate Leadership Fund PAC |
| $3.5 milllion | Congressional Leadership Fund | ||
| $200,000 | Last Frontier PAC | ||
| $200,000 | Ohio Flyer PAC | ||
| $200,000 | Pine Tree Results PAC | ||
| $100,000 | Center Forward Committee | ||
| $100,000 | Our Values PAC | ||
| $50,000 | Association of Texas Conservatives | ||
| $50,000 | The Governing Majority Fund | ||
| $25,000 | Value in Electing Women PAC | ||
| $10,000 | Iowans for a Renewable Future PAC | ||
| TOTAL | $473.9 million | -- | |
Source: Public Citizen analysis of OpenSecrets.org and FEC data through October 23, 2026
Following the Citizens United ruling, corporations mostly held back from exploiting their new ability to spend unlimited sums on elections. The norm against direct engagement by Big Business is eroding, and the biggest beneficiary of this eroding norm is President Trump, whose MAGA Inc. super PAC received more corporate money than any other entity – $141 million, or nearly one third (31%) of its $449 million in disclosed contributions so far.
Table 3: Top 10 Recipients of Corporate Contributions in the 2026 Midterms
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| MAGA Inc. | $141 million |
| Fairshake | $106.9 million |
| Win for America | $80.7 million |
| Democracy PAC | $52 million |
| Leading the Future | $50.1 million |
| Senate Leadership Fund PAC | $48.8 million |
| Congressional Leadership Fund | $41.3 million |
| Americans for Prosperity | $30.3 million |
| Digital Freedom Fund | $22.4 million |
| America First Agriculture Action | $12.3 million |
Source: Public Citizen analysis of OpenSecrets.org and FEC data through October 23, 2026
Conclusion
The surge in corporate spending in the 2026 midterm elections follows the success of the cryptocurrency sector’s super PAC spending in 2024. This escalating spending by more and more corporate sectors threatens to crowd out the voices and interests of actual human voters from the already often out-of-touch electoral discourse.
Corporations want elected officials to prioritize their private profit-maximization over voters and the public interest. The interests of voters are far more diverse and dynamic. Their subordination to policies advanced solely to benefit corporate interests can and should be resisted every step of the way.