The Coming War Over AI Will Define The 2026 Midterms

The rapid deployment of artificial intelligence is quickly becoming one of the central issues of the 2026 midterm elections, with battle lines over the disruptive technology splitting both parties’ coalitions and the tech industry itself. Dueling super PACs are threatening to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to advance their respective visions of AI, while a grassroots backlash against data centers across the country is fueling a populist pushback against the technology. The cross-cutting forces could quickly make arguments about how AI will impact jobs, energy prices, privacy and children’s safety a focal point for primaries across the country. Advertisement…