An independent political action committee tied to some of the biggest names in technology and artificial intelligence is dropping last minute dollars − almost 300,000 of them − into a Michigan congressional race ahead of the Aug. 4 primary.
Think Big, a Super PAC, has reported to the Federal Election Commission that it has spent some $295,000 on text message and digital advertisingsupport for state Sen. Jeremy Moss, of Bloomfield Township, who is running for the Democratic nomination for Michigan's open 11th Congressional District seat.
Think Big, by the way, is funded in large part by another PAC, called Leading the Future, which in turn is largely funded by venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitzwho, in turn, have a technology-heavy
portfolio that includes Airbnb, Roblox, Lyft and lots of AI investments, including Open AI and others. Both have also supported Democrats in the past but swung more toward backing Republicans in recent years and Andreessen advised President Donald Trump following his 2024 victory.
As far as the Detroit Free Press can tell, this race is the only one in Michigan Think Big has invested in to date, which seems notable. Moss hasn't made any position on AI or data centers, which have become a controversial topic this election year, a central theme of his campaign, and while he voted for tax breaks for data centers − which need massive amounts of energy to power them − in 2024, so did most other Democrats in the state Senate at the time. He's also gotten support from utilities, notably DTE's PAC, in the past − but so have many other members of both parties, and he hasn't in this race.
Moss also has the backing in this race to replace U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, who is running for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat, from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, former Gov. Jim Blanchard, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and lots of other state and legislative leaders and is already considered the presumptive favorite to win the Aug. 4 primary in a solidly Democratic district.
Don Ufford,who is running against Moss for the Democratic nomination, said the expenditure indicates that "Silicon Valley billionaires" are trying "to buy this seat" for Moss. (Lawyer Aisha Farooqi is also running for the Democratic nomination.)
Moss' campaign didn't directly address the spending, which, as it was made by an outside group, was not coordinated with the campaign under law. But campaign manager Sophie Norton said his legislative experience speaks for itself: "Senator Moss is running on his record delivering for working families in the Michigan Legislature and he will do the same in Congress to protect voting rights and lower the cost of living."
Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on X @tsspangler.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Super PAC tied to AI spends $295K on US House race in Michigan
