Meta, the company Mark Zuckerberg controls, has quietly stood up four super PACs to spend $65 million on 2026 state elections. The explicit goal, according to company representatives speaking to the New York Times, is to defeat candidates and legislation that would impose regulation on the artificial intelligence industry. The spending started in Texas and Illinois, two states where AI regulation bills are under active debate. Meta has data center projects in Texas. The connection between the regulatory threat and the political spending is not subtle.
The four PACs break along partisan lines. Forge the Future Project is backing Republicans. Making Our Tomorrow is backing Democrats. Two additional PACs cover California specifically, where Meta has faced the most aggressive state-level regulatory push. The strategy is to back incumbents in both parties who are favorable to the tech industry, and to engage in open-seat races where the outcome is undetermined. Meta is not trying to elect Republicans or Democrats. It is trying to elect legislators who will not regulate Meta.
$65 million is the largest election investment Meta has ever made. It is happening while Zuckerberg has publicly repositioned himself as a Trump ally, scrapped Meta's content moderation systems, and appeared at Trump's inauguration. It is also happening while court documents released in March 2026 revealed that Zuckerberg texted Elon Musk asking whether he could assist with DOGE efforts. The billionaire class is not competing. It is coordinating.
What Meta Is Buying
State legislatures have become the primary battleground for AI regulation precisely because federal legislation has stalled. California's AI bills, Texas's proposed frameworks, and Illinois's regulatory discussions represent the only active regulatory threat to companies like Meta, whose AI systems touch hundreds of millions of Americans daily.
Meta's super PAC spending is designed to neutralize that threat before it becomes law. Company representatives told the New York Times that the investment is driven by concerns that state AI regulation "could inhibit A.I." That framing treats regulatory accountability as an obstacle rather than a legitimate democratic function. The states are trying to set rules. Meta is spending $65 million to elect people who will not.
This is textbook regulatory capture, executed at the state level through super PACs rather than through federal lobbying. The mechanism is different. The outcome is the same: the regulated industry shapes the composition of the body that is supposed to regulate it.
The DOGE Connection and What It Reveals
Court documents released in March 2026 in ongoing Meta litigation revealed that Zuckerberg sent a text message to Elon Musk asking whether he could help with DOGE efforts. Musk and Zuckerberg had previously performed their relationship as a rivalry. The texts suggest a different dynamic: billionaires who present as competitors sharing interests in the restructuring of federal government.
Musk used DOGE to fire regulators, close agencies, and redirect federal contracts. Zuckerberg scrapped Facebook's moderation systems and shifted Meta's political posture toward the Trump administration. Both men attended Trump's inauguration. Both have financial interests in reduced federal oversight of AI. The $65 million PAC spend is the Zuckerberg column in what is effectively a shared project.
Why $65 Million in State Races Is More Dangerous Than Federal Lobbying
Federal lobbying is disclosed, regulated, and subject to contribution limits. Super PAC spending in state elections is harder to track, operates under varying state disclosure rules, and can flow through multiple entities before reaching a candidate. Meta's four-PAC structure, two covering specific states and two organized by party, is designed to maximize reach while distributing the spend across vehicles that are individually less visible.
The goal is to reshape 20 to 30 state legislatures over a single election cycle in ways that insulate the AI industry from accountability for the next decade. Zuckerberg does not need to lobby a bill. He needs to elect the legislators who will never introduce one.
Sources: GV Wire | Common Dreams | Fortune: Musk-Zuckerberg DOGE texts | Built In
