California state Sen. Scott Wiener, the author of a state AI safety law, has defeated San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan in the race for Nancy Pelosi’s House seat in California’s 11th District, KTVU reported, citing The Associated Press. With about 57% of the vote counted, Wiener had 55% and Chan 44%, according to AP. Chan conceded on Wednesday.
The race drew AI money. Public First Action, a group that says it advocates AI safeguards and has received $40 million from Anthropic, according to Anthropic as reported by Mission Local, gave $3.5 million to Abundant Future, a super PAC backing Wiener, FEC filings show. That is 70.9% of the $4.93 million Abundant Future reported raising through 14 October, by our arithmetic.
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The key insight: As we read the filings and reports, most of the money raised by Abundant Future, a super PAC backing Scott Wiener, came from one AI-safety advocacy group: Public First Action supplied 70.9% of Abundant Future’s receipts through 14 October, by our arithmetic, while Anthropic says its own $40 million to that group cannot be used for political races.
Pelosi endorsed Chan, KTVU reported. “After reviewing the results and the ballots remaining to be counted, while we expect the margin to narrow significantly, we do not have a clear path to victory,” Chan said in a statement Wednesday evening, as quoted by KTVU.
Wiener, in a written statement, said: “I want to thank Supervisor Connie Chan for a spirited and hard-fought campaign.” KTVU reported that his victory statement listed health care, clean energy and transit, along with the potential for regulations on artificial intelligence.
Abundant Future, a super PAC backing Scott Wiener, reported $4.93 million of receipts through 14 October 2026; $3.5 million came from Public First Action in three contributions, FEC filings show. The 71% share is our arithmetic.
What the FEC Filings Show
Abundant Future (FEC committee C00922229) reported receipts of $4,934,101 through 14 October. Its itemized receipts list three contributions from Public First Action, Inc.: $500,000 on 13 April, $1 million on 10 August and $2 million on 16 September, FEC records show. Other donors listed include Smart Justice California Action Fund ($500,000 in two gifts) and several individuals at $100,000 each.
The committee reported $3.31 million of independent expenditures through 14 October. Its itemized reports name Wiener as a candidate it supported and Chan and Saikat Chakrabarti as candidates it opposed, with expenditures dated from 20 May to 29 October.
The Anthropic Question
Anthropic has given Public First Action two $20 million donations, the San Francisco Standard reported. An Anthropic spokesperson told the Standard that none of that money may be spent on political races and can be used only for the group’s education and policy efforts. The group has received other donations that can be used for politics and has not disclosed those contributors, the Standard reported.
At an October debate, Wiener said: “Once again, there is no Anthropic money in this race, period.” Chan asked how voters could “trust you to regulate the AI industry”, and her spokesperson, Ian Krager, said that “Anthropic helped write Wiener’s AI bill, and AI industry lobbying weakened it.” Both quotes are as reported by the Standard.
A Public First Action spokesperson told the Standard: “He wrote the first-in-the-nation AI safety law, and states across the country are now using it as a template.” The Standard reported that the group was created in response to Leading the Future, a PAC network that advocates industry-friendly AI policies and has received funding from Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI executives.
Where They Differed on Data Centers
The Standard reported that their sharpest contrast was on data centers. Chan wants a national data center moratorium until Congress sets rules, while Wiener wants to add fees on new data centers to pay for electric transmission costs associated with AI, according to the Standard.
As we read FEC data, Abundant Future’s receipts through 14 October were $4,934,101, and three contributions from Public First Action account for $3.5 million of them.
As we read the Standard’s reporting, the candidates agreed AI needs safeguards and split on how: Chan backed a national data center moratorium, Wiener fees on new data centers for transmission costs.
As we read our own coverage this week, AI policy positions sat on several winning ballots, including Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, while AI and crypto PACs also put money on losing sides.
Scott Wiener at the October debate, as reported by the San Francisco Standard
“Once again, there is no Anthropic money in this race, period.”
Three Implications
FOR AI COMPANIES Wiener’s victory statement listed the potential for regulations on artificial intelligence, KTVU reported.
FOR DONORS FEC filings show Public First Action gave $3.5 million to Abundant Future in three contributions between April and September.
FOR READERS The FEC totals here run through 14 October; who funded Public First Action’s political spending is not disclosed, the Standard reported.
The framework says: “The governance layer sits at the intersection of capability, regulation, national security, access control, and geopolitical alignment.”
As we read it, a House seat is one of the places where that governance layer gets written. The framework predates this race and does not discuss Wiener or Public First Action.
What Is Not Established
The count was not complete when KTVU reported the result, and Chan said she expects the margin to narrow. The FEC totals here run through 14 October; later 24-hour reports are not summed because they overlap with periodic reports. Who funded Public First Action’s political spending is not disclosed. We did not read The Information’s report on Wiener, which first flagged the story to us, and we did not contact the campaigns.
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Scott Wiener defeated Connie Chan in California’s 11th District, 55% to 44% with about 57% of the vote counted, according to AP. Public First Action, which Anthropic says it has given $40 million that cannot be used for political races, gave $3.5 million to the pro-Wiener PAC Abundant Future, or 70.9% of the PAC’s receipts through 14 October.
A note on sourcing. The result and vote shares are as reported by KTVU, citing The Associated Press. FEC figures are from the FEC API for Abundant Future, queried on 6 November, covering reports through 14 October. Debate quotes and the Krager and Public First Action statements are as reported by the San Francisco Standard; Chan’s concession and Wiener’s victory statement are as reported by KTVU. The 70.9% share is our arithmetic. We did not contact the campaigns or Anthropic.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
