One of the largest super PACs of the 2026 cycle is backing Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C) and Rep. Kevin Hern (R., Okla.) to the hilt as the two run for reelection and for a promotion to the Senate, respectively.
Leading the Future, a super PAC with over $140 million at its disposal for the cycle, will spend $400,000 supporting Graham ahead of his primary; the ad, obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter, praises Graham for standing “shoulder to shoulder with President Trump, through every attack and every win.”
“When the swamp came for Trump, Graham stood in the way,” the ad notes. “He fights for Trump’s judges, Trump’s tax cuts, and securing the border.” The ad is paid for by American Mission, one of Leading the Future’s offshoots.
The pro-Graham ad will run on cable, broadcast, streaming, and digital. Leading the Future also told the Reporter that it will be spending $850,000 backing Hern in his Senate race. Both Graham and Hern have been endorsed by President Donald Trump. While Hern is on a glide path to the Senate, the Leading the Future ad will nevertheless run from before the primary, through the general election across cable, broadcast, streaming, and digital as well.
Zac Moffatt, the group’s co-strategist, told the Reporter that “Leading the Future is helping build a broad coalition of pro-innovation lawmakers and candidates who understand what’s at stake in the global race for AI.”
“The Trump administration,” Moffatt continued, “has put forward strong and thoughtful ideas, and now Congress must turn that vision into law. We need a national AI framework that keeps the U.S. globally competitive, unlocks economic growth, and includes commonsense protections for families and their communities.”
While both Graham and Hern are near-locks to return the Capitol Hill, Leading the Future and its affiliated organizations have also waded into primaries where the outcomes were anything but certain. Its network backed former Reps. Melissa Bean (D., Ill.) and Jesse Jackson (D., Ill.) in their March primaries; the former won and the latter lost.
Leading the Future has also backed Democratic incumbents, like Reps. Richie Torres (D., N.Y.), Val Hoyle (D., Ore.), and Rob Menendez (D., N.J.). Other Republicans it has supported this cycle include Rep. Andy Barr (R., Ky.) in his Senate bid, as well as non-incumbents Jim Kingston, Houston Gaines, Chris Gober, Jace Yarbrough, Jessica Steinmann, and Tom Sell.
While Leading the Future is focusing heavily on federal races in 2026, it is also endorsing bipartisan slates of candidates who are running for state and local office. Rep. Byron Donalds (R., Fla.), who is favored to become Florida’s next governor, is one of its endorsees on a state level.
