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Bipartisan Push: Former Congressmen Launch Super PACs and Nonprofit to Defend AI Safeguards

Former Representatives Chris Stewart (R‑Utah) and Brad Carson (D‑Okla.) are launching separate Republican and Democratic super PACs and a nonprofit, Public First, to back candidates who support stronger AI safeguards. They plan to raise $50 million to promote oversight and counter industry-backed efforts that have raised roughly $100 million. The move comes as industry groups roll out ad campaigns and lawmakers debate whether federal law should preempt state AI rules.

06:27 AM, 11/27/2025Politics

Two former members of Congress on Tuesday unveiled a bipartisan effort to support candidates who back stronger safeguards for artificial intelligence, forming separate Republican and Democratic super PACs and a new nonprofit to influence AI policy.

Former Representatives Chris Stewart (R‑Utah) and Brad Carson (D‑Okla.) said they will create separate party-aligned super PACs and aim to raise $50 million to elect candidates "committed to defending the public interest against those who aim to buy their way out of sensible AI regulation," according to their press release.

“This isn’t a partisan issue — it’s about whether we’ll have meaningful oversight of the most powerful technology ever created,” Stewart said. “We’ve seen what happens when government fails to act on other emerging technologies. With AI, the stakes are enormous, and we can’t afford to make the same missteps.”

The pair also announced a nonprofit called Public First to advocate for federal AI policy and public-interest safeguards. Carson highlighted polling he says shows "significant public concern about AI and overwhelming voter support for guardrails that protect people from harm and mitigate major risks."

The organizers positioned their effort as a counterweight to industry-backed political activity they describe as attempting to block commonsense AI guardrails. That appears aimed at Leading the Future, a super PAC launched by industry backers that reportedly raised $100 million in initial funding from parties including Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, venture capitalists Ron Conway and Joe Lonsdale, and the AI firm Perplexity.

Industry-backed groups have reportedly targeted specific candidates; one such figure mentioned in media reports is New York Assemblymember Alex Bores, who co-sponsored state AI legislation. Leading the Future’s advocacy arm, Build American AI, launched an ad campaign the same day calling for a federal AI framework.

The announcements come amid a broader policy fight over state preemption. House GOP leaders are considering language for the annual defense bill that could limit or block state-level AI regulations, a development that would shift the balance between federal and state authority on emerging technology rules.

This initiative adds a new, explicitly bipartisan political force to the national debate on AI regulation, signaling that some former lawmakers see elections and advocacy as routes to shaping how the U.S. governs advanced AI systems.

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