Ayotte signs law raising cap on anonymous campaign donations
From The New Hampshire Bulletin: New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte recently signed a bill that will raise the threshold under which political donors in New Hampshire can remain anonymous. The limit was previously $150, but now donors giving less than $200 in aggregate to a single candidate in an election cycle do not have to be listed in the candidate’s campaign finance reports. Only 7 other states have $200 anonymity limits; according to the National Conference of State Legislators most states have limits from $100 to as low as $20.
Nearly all the spending in this Maryland primary comes from two self-funding candidates
From OpenSecrets: One of the most expensive House races in the country, the Democratic primary for Maryland’s 6th district, has almost entirely been funded by personal expenditures by the two candidates. Together, they have personally spent 94% of the more than $38 million spent on the race, $10 million more than the total price tag of the most expensive House election in 2024. Incumbent Rep. April McClain Delaney won the primary last week, defeating former Rep. David Trone. Trone, a billionaire, has spent more than $107 million of his own money on campaigns for office since 2016.
AI PACs pour $20 million into New York Democratic primary in AI regulation battle
From CNBC: Two competing Super PACs backed by major AI companies spent nearly $20 million on two sides of the Democratic primary. Leading the Future, a Super PAC partially funded by OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, spent $8 million opposing state Assemblyman Alex Bores, who has backed AI regulation. Public First Action, a Super PAC funded by Anthropic which has publicly voiced opposition to Leading the Future, spent $11 million backing Bores. Bores was defeated in the primary last week.
‘They like a good batting average’: Crypto racks up primary wins
From POLITICO: The Super PAC funded by major crypto companies, Fairshake, has enjoyed an overwhelming success rate in backing primary candidates. 38 out of the 40 candidates backed by the Super PAC have won their primaries. In many cases the PAC has spent money in races that are considered safe, making them the largest spender in those races other groups might ignore. The push to shape the 2026 midterms comes as Congress is working on new crypto regulations, sending a message to lawmakers that their decisions on crypto-related bills may influence how much money is spent supporting or opposing them.
