AI-related groups back Buckhout, Foushee in competitive North Carolina primaries :: WRAL.com
AI-related groups back Buckhout, Foushee in competitive North Carolina primaries :: WRAL.com
https://www.wral.com/news/nccapitol/ai-pacs-2m-nc-2026-primaries-foushee-buckhout-feb-27/
Publish Date: 2026-02-27 17:12:00
Source Domain: www.wral.com
Political action committees tied to the artificial intelligence industry have spent at least $2 million in the waning days of North Carolina’s 2026 primary elections to try to influence two key races, on either side of the aisle. The spending comes as an AI boom continues reshaping the U.S. economy and many individual industries, as well as raising questions about surveillance and other ethical issues.
Early voting ends this week, and Election Day is Tuesday. In the meantime, local voters are being bombarded by ads on their televisions, radios, computer screens and phones — particularly for the Democratic primary in the Triangle-area 4th Congressional district, and the Republican primary for the 1st Congressional District in northeastern North Carolina.
Making a late entry into the ad blitz are AI-backed PACs, supporting Democratic U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee in the 4th district and Republican candidate Laurie Buckhout in the 1st district.
The Jobs and Democracy political action committee, which claims on its website to support “sensible AI regulation,” has spent $1.6 million supporting Foushee in her Democratic primary against Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam. It’s an affiliated PAC of a larger group, Public First, which is backed by $20 million from Anthropic, the AI company that runs the Claude tool. The Jobs and Democracy PAC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Donald Trump on Friday ordered all federal agencies to phase out the use of Anthropic technology following a dispute over how its AI products could be used by the Pentagon. The federal government sought for Anthropic to allow unrestricted military use of the Claude tool, a request the company…
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