U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and Congressman Seth Moulton.
Joseph Prezioso | Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call Inc. | Getty Images
Artificial intelligence is surging in next Tuesday’s Massachusetts Senate Democratic primary as Rep. Seth Moulton seeks to unseat Bay State political juggernaut Sen. Ed Markey.
Moulton, a six-term congressman, capitalized on Markey’s fumbling response in a recent debate in which he said he didn’t know whether senators were using AI in their personal electronic devices. Moulton said Markey’s answer was “why do we need a new generation of leaders?” and he turned that answer into an ad.
But Markey, who is seeking a third term in the Senate and has represented Massachusetts in Congress for nearly half a century, has the support of Anthropic, one of the most important players in AI. The Humanity-backed nonprofit Public First Action, which operates several political action committees, donated $500,000 to Commonwealth Together, a PAC supporting Markey, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Anthony Rivera Rodriguez, a spokesperson for Public First Action, said he supports Markey because he has “unequivocally supported regulation of AI.”
“In Congress, he helped lead a 99-1 vote to strip states of the moratorium on AI regulation from the settlement. He worked to fight back against every version of preemption that has since been reinstated, and he drafted legislation to stop the administration from stripping states of their regulatory authority,” Rivera Rodriguez said.
The fight over AI and its associated data center infrastructure spilled over into the next election this year, with the companies behind it emerging as some of the biggest spenders of this election. Corporate money has flowed into both sides of the Massachusetts primary, and the PAC supporting Moulton, Advance Progress, is backed by major financial players, including former Bain Capital co-chairman Josh Bekenstein.
Public First Action supports more guardrails on AI development, and its PAC supports candidates across the country. Anthropic donated $20 million to the group. Another AI PAC, Leading the Future, backed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, is also spending heavily on candidates across the country. The group has yet to spend time in Massachusetts.
Markey, a longtime progressive, and Moulton, who has carved out a moderate position in Congress, both want new guardrails for AI. Moulton calls for “(federal) AI regulation” while ensuring AI companies remain in the United States. Markey introduced what he called an “AI Responsibility Agenda” to ensure AI serves “the public interest, not inflating the profits of Big Tech.”
Moulton, 47, has sought to shape the race around a message of generational change. Mr. Markey, 80, touts his progressive bona fides in this fight and the support of key figures such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vermont), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York).
There was no immediate comment from Moulton’s camp. Markey’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Recent polls show Markey leading Moulton by a wide margin. A University of New Hampshire poll on Tuesday showed Markey leading Moulton by 35 points. Mr Moulton led with 28% to the senator’s 63%.
Markey has a history of defeating Democratic challengers. He easily defeated former Congressman Joe Kennedy III, a scion of the Kennedy family, in 2020.
