The midterms are shaping up to be a record-breaking election for Democrats, who have flipped states including South Carolina and Texas. But the election has also shattered records for private political spending. By some estimates, super PAC spending exceeded $2 billion this cycle, more than 50% above previous election cycles.

One of the dominant narratives heading into the midterms was that Big Tech—and the artificial intelligence sector in particular—would spend hundreds of millions of dollars electing AI-friendly lawmakers, much as the cryptocurrency industry had done in previous elections. Indeed, Leading the Future, the largest pro-AI super PAC network, backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Greg Brockman, and Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale, invited comparisons to the crypto super PAC network Fairshake, drawing on some of the same donors and political operatives. (Both networks operate through partisan affiliates: Leading the Future has Think Big for Democrats and American Mission for Republicans, while Fairshake’s got Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs, respectively.)

But as public sentiment toward AI soured and Democratic Party insiders warned candidates against accepting industry money, the narrative began to shift. Yet a Fast Company analysis of election data suggests the midterms were hardly the rebuke of AI money that some had anticipated. More than 86% of the candidates backed by Leading the Future have won or are currently leading their House or Senate races. That’s roughly on par with Fairshake, which supported 87 candidates this cycle, 77 of whom have won or are currently ahead.

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