Super PACs in the Leading the Future network have paid millions of dollars to four Nevada LLCs that election watchdogs allege are being used to conceal the vendors behind the spending. Federal campaign finance records reviewed by WIRED show that Think Big paid Lantern Production Consultants LLC around $20 million since last year for services including polling, digital advertising, research, and strategy.
Lantern’s listed address is a post office box in a Spanish Springs shopping complex. American Mission paid Summit Ridge Media Group LLC around $13 million between December 2025 and September 2026. Summit Ridge lists a mail center in a Reno strip mall as its address. Two other LLCs appearing in the filings, Blue Horizon Compliance Consultants and Prusik Partners LLC, list addresses at a Reno Staples and a Henderson strip mall, respectively.
The watchdog complaint challenges the disclosures
In May, the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that Think Big and American Mission violated federal law by failing to disclose the actual recipients of their payments. Its lawyers said the LLCs “function as mere extensions of the super PACs they serve.” Shanna Ports, the group’s senior legal counsel, said, “This is about hiding where the money is going.”
Leading the Future spokesperson Jesse Hunt rejected the charge. In a statement to WIRED, he said the network complies with applicable laws and called the complaint a bid for attention by Public First, Anthropic, and groups aligned with them. Public First spokesperson Anthony Rivera-Rodriguez said his group had nothing to do with the complaint. Anthropic did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
Read nextHome Office asylum AI summaries fail 22% of initial checksLeading the Future has raised over $140 million to influence midterm campaigns aligned with AI industry priorities. Backers include Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, and OpenAI president Greg Brockman. Think Big overwhelmingly funds Democrats, while American Mission funds Republicans. Leading the Future says it supports candidates who back “an AI innovation policy agenda.”
Kyle Morse, deputy executive director of the Tech Oversight Project, raised the possibility that undisclosed vendors could matter to voters if a Democratic campaign received support from Republican strategists. The filings do not establish that this happened. Businesses might also have reasons to avoid public association with a pro-AI campaign.
The FEC cannot currently decide the complaint
The Campaign Legal Center has also accused other political groups of using shell companies to obscure spending. It filed complaints involving Texas congressional candidate Brandon Herrera’s campaign and Lead Left PAC. Matt Braynard, who runs the firm named in the Herrera complaint, denied that allegation.
For now, the FEC lacks the four commissioners needed to decide a legal complaint. It has been without a quorum since May 2025. The Campaign Legal Center does not expect its complaint against Think Big and American Mission to be heard anytime soon.
