Nov. 2, 2026 — As Americans head to the polls in what is projected to be the most expensive midterm election in U.S. history, American Promise CEO Jeff Clements issued the following statement on the widespread public demand for action, and the urgent need to restore the authority of lawmakers to set the rules for money in politics.
Jeff Clements, CEO of American Promise:
“As voters head to the polls in what has been the most expensive and least transparent election in our country’s history, Americans have never been more unified about the urgent need to address the corrupting influence of money in politics.
“Most Americans across the political spectrum agree that uncontrolled and unaccountable money in elections and politics is one of the greatest threats facing our country. In survey after survey conducted this year, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents made this clear. Republicans said money in politics was the top concern among a list of issues that included immigration, inflation, crime, and the federal deficit. And just weeks ago, a poll found government corruption was Americans’ top concern, ahead of gas prices and healthcare.
“From election to election over the last several decades, we’ve come to expect simply more of the same — a continuously escalating arms race with no off-ramp. This year, industries with enormous financial stakes in government decisions, such as AI, crypto, sports betting operators and prediction markets, have poured outside money into elections to influence the lawmakers who will set the rules for their businesses. And a new accelerant threatens to supercharge the ways in which unlimited money degrades our American system of self-governance.
“This year, we caught only a glimpse of the impact of artificial intelligence on our political system, with fake, A.I.-generated ads flooding our airwaves and social media feeds. Not only will this new technology’s capabilities continue to increase, but it will become far cheaper and more accessible to anyone with a political objective, including our foreign adversaries.
“By 2028, A.I. will also be able to do far more than generate deceptive content. The recent emergence of agentic A.I. will make it possible for these systems to run entire campaigns from start to finish. If we think today’s system is broken, just wait.
“It’s also highly likely that current legal doctrine on campaign finance — which does not distinguish humans from corporate or artificial entities when it comes to speech — prevents federal and state governments from doing anything substantive to limit the use of A.I. to influence elections. Several states have moved to address concerns, but some legal scholars and the A.I. companies are already arguing that these systems enjoy the same First Amendment speech protections that humans enjoy.
“So what can we do about it in the next two years? It should be obvious at this point to any close observer that, given the Supreme Court’s track record over the last 50 years since Buckley v. Valeo, no legislation or legal challenge will lead to meaningful, durable campaign finance reform. The only remaining option is a constitutional amendment returning to Congress and state legislatures the authority to set reasonable limits on political spending.
“Americans across the spectrum support this constitutional solution.
“The American people are sending the urgent message to all candidates, state legislatures, and Congress: The time is now to end this broken, dangerous, and corrupt money system with a constitutional amendment.
“American Promise will continue to work with all Americans and the new Congress to move this amendment solution forward and return it to the states for ratification as soon as possible. We cannot wait any longer.”
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About American Promise
After a series of Supreme Court decisions, starting in the 1970s, opened the floodgates to unlimited political spending, Americans have watched money speak louder than their votes. American Promise is a cross-partisan organization working to pass the For Our Freedom Amendment, to restore the power of Congress and the states to set reasonable rules on election spending. With 25 states now signaling support, American Promise is building a national movement to put voters back at the center of our elections.
