Tomorrow Together, a Democratic political action committee centered on artificial intelligence issues, announced it will spend $2.5 million on advertisements targeting Republican Senators Jon Husted of Ohio and Roger Marshall of Kansas, according to an announcement first shared with Semafor.
The group and its goals
Tomorrow Together was founded by Rob Flaherty, a former Biden White House staffer, and Karthik Ganapathy, a former spokesman for Bernie Sanders. Ganapathy told Semafor that the PAC is focused on "building political support for AI regulation and ensuring voters trust Democrats on AI issues."
Campaign messages and creative
The Ohio and Kansas ads portray Husted and Marshall as beholden to interests tied to data center projects and to "tech guys" who want to "take our land … our water … our quiet" and jobs. A second ad running in both states highlights David Sacks, the former Trump AI czar and venture capitalist, and emphasizes his influence with the Republican incumbents.
One line in the ad states: "Republicans gave Sacks a government job pushing AI data centers and blocking AI regulation. Sacks gets rich. His friends get rich. The only person who loses… is you."
Prior spending and parallel activity
Tomorrow Together previously announced $4 million in planned spending on House races in Wisconsin, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
Why this matters
Concerns about AI and technology have existed beneath the surface of U.S. campaign politics for years, but they have only recently become a more salient everyday issue for voters. Democrats are attempting to position themselves as the party that will pass meaningful AI regulation and to appear more trustworthy on these issues.
The move to enter competitive Senate races shortly before midterm contests suggests Democrats believe this message can reach voters worried about AI. The real challenge will come if and when Democrats regain control of Congress: advancing AI regulation will require uniting different Democratic factions and persuading enough Republicans to support measures, a difficult task while former President Trump remains influential and opposes some forms of regulation.
Related development
Jon Husted led a bill intended to address concerns around data center electricity costs, but Senate Democrats said the proposal "lacked teeth" and blocked it from being considered last month.
