Public First Action (PFA)

Public First Action (PFA) is a nonprofit that advocates for policies that ensure transparency and accountability in artificial intelligence (AI) development that is backed by AI developer Anthropic. It is paired with the Republican-aligned Defending Our Values PAC 1 and the Democratic-aligned Jobs and Democracy PACs 2 and funded by AI companies and individuals involved in the development of AI systems. The Hill characterized it as “an effort to counter Leading the Future,” an AI-industry-backed political committee that endorses loose regulation of AI development. 3  4  5

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit
Issue Areas: Tech Policy
Website: www.publicfirstaction.us
Leadership:

Brad Carson

Christ Stewart

Location: Washington, View on map

Contents

    Background

    Public First Action advocates for greater artificial intelligence transparency and accountability, safeguards for children, and export controls on the technology supporting AI. 3 Anthropic, an AI developer that supports strict regulations on AI development, funded Public First Action. 6

    PFA was founded in 2025 in response to the launch of Leading the Future, a Nevada-based super PAC that supports AI industry deregulation and more rapid development. It funds advertising and candidate questionnaires on AI policy. 7  8

    Policy Positions

    Public First Action positions include requiring artificial-intelligence developers to inform policymakers of activities in advance, conduct pre-deployment safety evaluations, face liability for harms, provide protections for children to promote online safety, and avoid child sexual abuse. It also supports export controls on advanced semiconductor chips to countries of concern. PFA supports state and local AI legislation and the prevention of federal preemption should it provide less regulation than state programs. 9

    Related Organizations

    Public First Action is tied to the PACs: Defending Our Values and Jobs and Democracy. 4

    Defending Our Values is a Republican super PAC that supports candidates committed to protecting children from online harm and keeping the United States ahead of China in AI development. Jobs and Democracy is a Democratic Party super PAC that supports Democrats committed to AI policies that protect working families. 10  11  12

    Activities

    Public First Action has issued questionnaires to U.S. House, U.S. Senate, Governor, and Attorney General candidates designed to qualify them for a list of 30 to 50 candidates who support PFA policy positions. 13

    PFA provided a $2 million grant to the Latino Victory Fund, a left-of-center PAC founded by Eva Longoria that supports Latino political candidates, according to a post on X on July 20, 2026. 14

    PFA announced a $7 million advertising initiative on July 17, 2026. The campaign will initially feature U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Ashley Moody (R-FL), along with U.S. Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL). The announcement included a statement that future advertising will feature 12 members of Congress who support PFA’s positions on AI security and accountability. 15

    PFA launched its first ad on February 12, 2026, thanking Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) for supporting the Kids Online Safety Act and the Trump America AI Act. 16

    Funding

    Public First Action has reported raising more than $80 million for the 2026 midterm elections. Michael Cohen, an AI policy researcher at University of California, Berkeley, gave $500,000. 17

    Anthropic announced $20 million in funding for PFA in February of 2026 in support of informing the public of “what’s at stake in AI development”. 5

    People

    Brad Carson, a former two-term U.S. Representative from Oklahoma from the Democratic Party, Obama administration official, and president of University of Tulsa, and former U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) are the co-founders and leaders of PFA. Carson also leads Jobs and Democracy PAC. Brendan Parets, former chief counsel to the late U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), is general counsel, and Martin Glusker, a former legislative assistant to U.S. Representative Josh Harder (D-CA), is the group’s Democratic-affiliated political director. 8  18  11  19  20  21

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    References

    1. “Defending Our Values Pac.” Defending Our Values PAC. Accessed August 12, 2026. https://www.defendingvaluespac.com/.
    2. “Jobs and Democracy PAC.” Jobs and Democracy PAC. Accessed August 12, 2026. https://www.jobsanddemocracy.us/.
    3. Public first action. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://publicfirstaction.us/
    4. Who’s spending in your congressional election? we tracked the front groups fueling the 2026 midterms. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://theintercept.com/2026/05/18/super-pac-election-spending-midterms-aipac-ai-crypto/.
    5. Anthropic gives $20m to group backing Ai Safeguards. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5735472-anthropic-donates-20m-public-first/.
    6. Anthropic is donating $20 million to public first action \ anthropic. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://www.anthropic.com/news/donate-public-first-action.
    7. Backed by anthropic, a Super PAC Group begins an ad blitz in support of A.I. Regulation – The New York Times. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/technology/ai-pac-ad-blitz.html.
    8. Chris Stewart, Brad Carson announce New Organization and bipartisan super pacs to support AI safeguards — Public First Action. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://publicfirstaction.us/news/chris-stewart-brad-carson-announce-new-organization-and-bipartisan-super-pacs-to-support-ai-safeguards.
    9. Issues — public first action. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://publicfirstaction.us/issues.
    10. Exclusive: Super pacs hunt for the ideal AI candidate. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://www.axios.com/2026/02/13/super-pacs-ai-candidate.
    11. Jobs and democracy PAC. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://www.jobsanddemocracy.us/.
    12. Defending our values Pac. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://www.defendingvaluespac.com/.
    13. Candidate questionnaire: Public first action. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/691cea7d5035d75f8dc1b1e1/t/697a3818fc690231dd4dc3ae/1769617432615/Candidate+Questionnaire+-+Public+First+Action.pdf.
    14. Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) / posts / x. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://x.com/teddyschleifer/status/2079426004087394314
    15. AI watchdog public first action launches $15 million conservative AI project. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/4652838/ai-safety-group-launches-15-million-campaign-republicans/.
    16. Public first action and defending our values launch … Accessed July 25, 2026. https://publicfirstaction.us/news/public-first-action-and-defending-our-values-pac-launch-first-ads-supporting-responsible-ai-regulation.
    17. AI safety pacs should be more transparent about who’s funding them. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://www.transformernews.ai/p/ai-safety-pacs-should-be-more-transparent-public-first-action.
    18. Brad Carson’s latest role puts him in the fight over ai. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://rollcall.com/2026/01/21/brad-carsons-latest-role-puts-him-in-the-fight-over-ai/.
    19. Utah GOP rep. Chris Stewart talks Jan. 6, Donald Trump and why he is optimistic (yet concerned) about America’s future. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://www.deseret.com/2023/8/31/23833575/chris-stewart-talks-donald-trump-resigning-wife-stroke-jan-6/.
    20. Martin Glusker. LinkedIn. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-glusker/
    21. Brendan Parets – Tack Strategies | linkedin. Accessed July 25, 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-parets/.