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With the midterm elections less than four months away, some analysts are already predicting<\/span><\/a> it will be the most expensive midterm cycle in U.S. history, with spending expected to reach $10.8 billion over the cycle to support or oppose candidates across the ballot.<\/p>\n This year, outside spending money has broken through in Democratic primaries like never before. In New York’s 12th Congressional District, artificial intelligence (AI) super PACs poured<\/span><\/a> more than $27 million into the June 23 primary. And in Michigan\u2019s Senate primary, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and its affiliates have spent<\/span><\/a> close to $30 million backing Representative Haley Stevens against Abdul El-Sayed, their largest ever investment in a single race.\u00a0<\/p>\n Already, cryptocurrency, AI, Big Tech, and online betting corporations have collectively spent<\/span><\/a> $294 million in political races this cycle, more than half of the $517 million spent by corporations overall.<\/p>\n While financial support from an outside group can help fill the coffers for a general election campaign, taking money from an unpopular source, such as AIPAC or AI companies, can also be costly to a candidate\u2019s reputation.\u00a0<\/p>\n To take a deeper look at how sources of outside funding affect candidate viability, Data for Progress conducted a conjoint survey experiment<\/span><\/a> analyzing how funding sources impact support for candidates in a general election matchup.\u00a0<\/p>\n We find that, compared with a Democratic candidate who rejects outside PAC money, Democratic candidates who take money from AIPAC, AI companies, cryptocurrency companies, and pharmaceutical companies perform significantly worse against a Republican candidate averaged across all funding sources.<\/strong><\/p>\n In our experiment, each survey respondent was shown a \u201cCandidate A\u201d and a \u201cCandidate B.\u201d Each matchup included a Republican and a Democrat, with the candidates\u2019 source of outside funding randomized across 10 different groups. In addition, we tested a candidate who \u201crejects all financial support from outside industry groups and PACs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n