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Democrats weighing 2028 presidential bids are piling onto the AI hate wave in their messaging, per an analysis shared exclusively with Axios. Why it matters: Democrats are turning AI anxiety into a political rallying cry ahead of 2028, while Republicans remain divided over how to respond. Driving the news: 2028 contenders including Gavin Newsom, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Jon Ossoff and more have all increased their AI commentary in recent months, per new research from Upswing, conducted on behalf of Reset Tech, a nonprofit advocating for tech regulation. Among 21 Democrats named as potential 2028 contenders, tech mentions on X nearly quadrupled, and press release mentions nearly tripled since the start of the year. Tech is now the second-most common topic in releases, trailing only jobs and the economy, with the highest concentration of mentions around data centers and phone bans in schools. To gather the data, Upswing analyzed nearly 30,000 X posts from 38 accounts associated with 21 potential presidential contenders and 3,868 press releases from 16 officeholders between Jan. 1 and Oct. 15. Between the lines: Democrats are galvanizing around AI as a winning issue. Democrats are "taking a meaningful advantage" on AI after the topic was initially seen as a "jump ball" for both major political parties, Rishi Bharwani, U.S. director of Reset Tech, told Axios. AI regulation has gone from the back burner to a top issue over the last six months, he added. While the economy is still what matters most to voters, AI is increasingly part of the financial conversation as it dominates markets and the macroeconomic backdrop. Zoom in: It's not just messaging. While data center bans have been proposed in Democratic- and Republican-majority states, New York is so far the only one to pass a moratorium. House Democrats drafted a resolution opposing government bailouts for AI companies if the so-called "bubble" bursts. There are also a variety of legislative proposals, including model transparency measures and kill switches. Zoom out: This comes amid a groundswell of anti-AI sentiment among voters. Most Americans across the political spectrum take the risks of AI causing harm seriously, per a September YouGov poll of nearly 1,500 voters. Likely voters trust Democrats more than Republicans to respond to artificial intelligence, the poll said. The other side: Republicans are caught between their base being concerned by AI and President Trump's unfettered embrace of the industry. Republicans are distancing themselves from Trump to varying degrees. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), for example, has been among the loudest about state-level regulation on the technology. The bottom line: Democrats are coalescing around a more critical stance on AI, but whether it meaningfully impacts elections remains to be seen.
document fetched 2026-10-31 02:55 · canonical https://axios.com/2026/10/30/2028-democrats-ai-hate-regulation-messaging