How Private Interests Impact Midterm Elections
White House with money overlaid in background meant to represent the impact of money on elections. Source: Center for Economic and Policy Research.
This year’s midterm election is unique in several ways. It has record amounts of outside funding, more dark-money involvement, and a distinct set of battleground states. Today’s political world continues to become increasingly partisan and special-interest-dominated.
According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the 2025-2026 election cycle has created record political spending. Candidates received $2.1 billion and disbursed $1.3 billion. Political Action Committees (PACs) raised $6.3 billion and spent $4.8 billion. To put this into perspective, according to Reuters, companies have spent 40 percent more money in the current midterm cycle than in the 2024 presidential election.
Describes the increasing trend in capital going into congressional elections. Source: FEC.
It is not just the massive increase in outside spending that is different, but the interests represented by the money. The United Democracy Project is a super PAC launched by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to further pro-Israeli relations and policy. It has spent more than $ 90 million to further the campaigns of pro-Israel candidates, with the goal of these candidates enacting laws that benefit Israel. Beyond this, tobacco, crypto, and prediction market companies all donated massive amounts to the (Make America Great Again) MAGA campaign. Sports betting companies and major artificial intelligence corporations like OpenAI have poured into political campaigns on both sides of the aisle—AI and crypto companies are spending more than $127 million on primaries.
Such record spending distorts democracy and overrepresents corporate interests in politics. As spending continues to increase, it diminishes the power of the common man and their voice in politics. Rather than appealing to voters, politicians can become more likely to appeal to big corporations who fund their advertising campaigns. It almost creates a system where votes are bought through capital-made propaganda instead of popular sovereignty.
However, this is only the tip of the iceberg. The ongoing 2026 elections are bringing in record amounts of a prevalent source of political funding known as dark money, reaching above $1 billion. Dark money refers to money used to influence political outcomes whose sources are hidden, hence the name ‘dark’ money. It obscures whose interests are involved, thereby reducing political transparency. This funding comes from sources like non-profits, shell companies, and temporary Super PACs—which often form right before elections and aren't required to disclose their funding sources. These organizations utilize loopholes within the FEC and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to create political ads and donate millions to regular Super PACs without disclosing themselves or their interests. Although news outlets do their best to track funding sources, their understanding of hidden capital is based on incomplete evidence. This means that, under the status quo, we will never truly know the scale or origin of the parties impacting public action.
Billionaires and companies in similar industries donate undisclosed funding to various campaigns. This includes money from billionaires like Elon Musk, tech companies like Google, AI companies such as Anthropic, and Crypto interests. Republicans are getting large donations of dark money from crypto, gambling, Wall Street, industrialists, AI companies, millionaires, and billionaires. Democrats also received dark money donations from billionaires with unknown interests as well as some gambling and crypto companies. According to The New York Times, the top twenty donors, mostly billionaires, have spent $1.2 billion on this year’s elections. All but two favored Republicans.
While most of the money has gone to Republicans, both parties have received hundreds of millions of dollars from undisclosed sources. About 25 percent of Republican super PAC money comes from dark sources, while Democrats use less but similar amounts of dark money. Dark money reduces accountability for political candidates, chipping away at a central tenet of democracy. Politicians can align with companies rather than voters with fewer consequences and greater rewards in the form of election funding.
The Brennan Center further asserts that tech companies’ power over candidates is irregular. The Center found that political consultants warned democratic candidates not to mention AI regulations because “candidates could be demolished by millions of dollars suddenly dumped into their races by tech companies.” The Center’s statement shows a power shift from voters to corporations, further emphasized by polarized elections.
Currently, Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate and a 218-214 majority in the House. With such narrow margins, political funding becomes a deciding factor. This is reflected in how 86 percent of reported outside Senate funding goes to just ten crucial states.
According to The New York Times and CBS, key Senate battleground states include: Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina. Minnesota, Kansas, and Nebraska are also relevant, though to a lesser degree. Additionally, California, Arizona, Texas, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia are crucial to regain control of the House. Between the House and Senate, a few states matter to both, becoming a sponge for a large concentration of political spending, like North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Interestingly, some states that tend to have Democratic and Republican majorities are considered swing states in the current midterm season. This could be a sign of disillusionment with the current political parties or evidence of a more involved election. Either way, whoever wins this election could cement a strong lead and carry out their will, whether for their voters or donors.
More capital than ever before is flowing into parties and inadvertently influencing politics. Most of this money is coming from newly created, mostly unregulated tech sectors: crypto, AI, and gambling. The impact of finances on close elections could decide which party controls the government. The additional advent of dark money, such as undisclosed political donations, complicates campaign integrity. Beyond who wins the election, it's about whose interests influence Washington. In today’s world, it is unknown whose intentions control tomorrow’s policy.