Guardrails Alliance hits Husted over ties to Marc Andreessen in new ad

Super PAC Guardrails Alliance will launch a digital ad campaign Wednesday seeking to tie Ohio Sen. Jon Husted (R)’s past support for data centers to campaign donations he received from tech executives like venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.

The 30-second ad, first shared with The Hill, highlights Andreessen’s past donations to Husted’s Senate run against former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), in which data centers became a major issue for the race over the summer.

“Mark Andreessen has a lot of investments in AI, they’re making him a lot of money,” the ad’s narrator says. “He’s also invested in John Husted’s Senate campaign. What’s he getting from this investment? Well, Jon Husted is a big supporter of data centers … data centers to build AI that makes donors like Mark Andreesen even richer.”

“Even though the experts say AI could kill us all, Husted’s donors get rich and we pay the price,” the narrator continues, referring to AI researchers’ ominous warnings that the technology has the potential to destroy humanity.

Filings from the Federal Election Commission show Andreesen, in his personal capacity, donated $3,500 to Husted’s campaign last November.

Guardrails Alliance was launched last June to counter the AI industry’s spending, including that of Big Tech-aligned super PAC, Leading the Future.

Leading the Future (LTF), launched last year , has received funding from Andreesen’s venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, AI firm Perplexity and tech industry executives like venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman.

LTF maintains it typically supports candidates who will help advance a “positive, forward-looking agenda for AI innovation” in Washington.

The $100,000 ad buy will run on digital platforms, including premium services offered by platforms like YouTube, across the state of Ohio, according to Guardrails Alliance.

“We’re trying to raise awareness of all the different AI billionaires who are trying to not just oppose regulation, but control every aspect of our lives,” Guardrails Alliance Political Director Charlie Blaettler told The Hill.

“AI billionaires are going to continue to spend money on elections to get their way and to try to buy a Congress that will let industry … write the rules of the road and regulate themselves instead of putting in the commonsense regulations that the vast majority of Americans support,” Blaettler said.

LTF has rejected claims it opposes all AI regulation. A spokesperson for the super PAC previously told The Hill the group “has laid out a clear, positive, and proactive agenda that focuses on establishing a responsible national framework on AI.”

“We’re proud of our track record supporting a diverse array of policymakers and candidates across the country,” the spokesperson added.

Husted is running for a full term after being appointed in 2024 to serve out the remainder of now-Vice President Vance’s Senate term. Brown, a longtime senator who lost his own seat the same year, is looking to take it back this November.

Brown’s campaign has repeatedly hit Husted with messaging targeting his record on data centers. Multiple ads for Brown highlighted Husted’s support of data center developer tax breaks while he was lieutenant governor from 2019 to 2025.

Husted’s campaign has previously emphasized his support for initiatives to make data centers pay for their share of the utility costs.

Senate Democrats blocked Husted’s bill , the Ratepayer Protection Act, in a vote late last month, calling it ineffective and “toothless.”

The bill, which passed the House with bipartisan support, would have required states and some electric utilities to consider a standard under which data centers would have to pay for additional costs caused by their power demand.

The Hill has reached out to Husted’s campaign, Leading the Future and Andreesen Horowitz for comment.