Alliance for a Better Future (ABF) CEO Janet Kelly outlined steps Republicans should take to address voter concerns over Super Intelligence (SI)/Artificial Intelligence (AI) following the GOP’s midterm election losses, warning Friday that the party must rebuild public trust on the emerging technology ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
During a November 6 virtual press conference, Kelly discussed the organization’s post-election memo, titled “How Super Intelligence (SI) Policy Helped Deliver Democrat Majorities & What the GOP Needs to Do to Recalibrate Ahead of 2028,” which examines the role SI policy played in the election and recommends measures addressing children’s safety, national security, and economic concerns.
“It became apparent this fall that 2026 was going to be the first AI election,” Kelly said. “But I can assure you, based on the data that I’m going to share this morning, that it will not be the last AI election.”
“We believe that it was a major issue, and we believe that it is on the Republican Party to figure out a way to better communicate and to better articulate a vision that resonates with voters,” Kelly said.
“While macro level issues like the Iran war, affordability, were above the surface, there’s always an undercurrent issue, and we believe strongly and think you will after this call that AI was that undercurrent issue in voters’ minds because to them it is inseparable from those economic concerns,” she added.
“When approximately 40% of Americans believe that one day AI could take their job, and their kid in college can’t get a job or whatever, it is inextricably linked to those economic concerns,” Kelly said.
The ABF memo cites Navigator Research polling showing that the percentage of voters identifying SI as an important priority for Congress and the president increased from seven percent to 21 percent, a 14-percentage-point increase.
“AI had the most significant growth of any issue this cycle,” Kelly said. “A year ago, 7% of voters were concerned about AI. This year and this fall, particularly, 21%. That’s a 200% increase.”
The memo also cites NBC News exit polling showing that 56 percent of voters considered AI and data centers a crucial or major factor in their congressional votes. Among those respondents, 65 percent voted Democratic, compared with 33 percent who voted Republican.
Kelly said voters increasingly want technology companies held accountable, pointing to a September 22 Reuters/Ipsos survey finding that 73 percent of respondents believed AI companies had not done enough to prevent serious harm.
“Voters are very unified in that they want big tech accountability,” Kelly said. “They don’t just want accountability though; they want actual changes in how tech is done that will protect their families. That will protect our country. Protect their jobs.”
Kelly also warned that Republicans face a disadvantage in public trust on SI policy, with the memo citing Navigator Research polling showing Democrats holding a nine-point advantage over President Trump and Republicans on the issue, 32 percent to 23 percent.
“This is really hard to say for someone who’s been in conservative politics for 30 years, but voters do not trust Republicans on SI or AI,” Kelly said. “They think that the GOP is too close with big tech.”
The memo additionally cites an October 19 Politico survey finding that 47 percent of respondents viewed Republicans as the party of tech tax breaks, compared with 21 percent who said the same of Democrats.
“At some point along the way, we realized that Democrats realized that Republicans were vulnerable on this issue, and they hijacked it for themselves, and that’s just another reason why Republicans need to act,” Kelly said.
Democratic-aligned groups also significantly outspent Republican-aligned groups on SI and data center television advertisements during the midterms, according to AdImpact figures cited in the memo.
Across nine Senate races, advertisers spent $49.2 million on SI and data center television advertisements beginning September 7, with Democratic-aligned sponsors accounting for $43.5 million, or 88 percent, of the spending.
“Democrats definitely took that opportunity and smartly for them seized it against Republicans and outspent Republicans nine to one on this vulnerability issue,” Kelly said.
Ohio accounted for approximately $29.9 million in Senate SI and data center advertising, with the memo identifying Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who lost to Democrat Sherrod Brown, as a prominent target of Democratic attacks involving technology companies.
“Particularly in Ohio, Dems spent $30 million painting John Husted as a corrupt big tech ally, and he definitely paid the price for that on election night,” Kelly said.
In House races, political advertisers spent another $40.5 million across 25 congressional districts, with Democratic-aligned and independent groups accounting for $37.5 million, or 93 percent, compared with $3 million from Republican-aligned sponsors.
Despite the election results, Kelly maintained that Republicans have an opportunity to rebuild trust ahead of 2028 by advancing legislation addressing children’s safety, strengthening national security safeguards, protecting American workers, and demonstrating the benefits of SI.
“It is definitely not too late to turn this around,” Kelly said. “Two years is not a long time for an issue that is as salient and as intense in voters’ minds as AI. But it is possible to earn trust back and earn trust back quickly.”
Kelly also addressed potential opportunities for bipartisan cooperation on SI policy, identifying child safety legislation as a priority for Congress.
“I think the easiest thing to do would be the child safety legislation in Congress,” Kelly responded. “That is, again, 93% of American voters believe that chatbots should be not be talking to children about suicide or sex, there is a there’s a lot of good legislation.”
“My view is if American voters agree with something at a 93% level, that is not compromise. That is common sense,” she continued.
“This should not be that hard, and this is just another example where if they can’t get something across the finish line, either in the lame duck session or early next year, I think people are going to be. It’s hard to imagine them being even more frustrated with Congress, but I think that they’re just going to lose all hope,” Kelly said.
Kelly also identified Trump’s SI Accords as a starting point for congressional action on national security.
“The SI Accords is, I think, just a brilliant way to start the conversation, and anything that Congress can do to make that more permanent would be wise,” Kelly said.
“There’s a lot that we can do before this, as it relates to transparency and just being, you know, auditors inside some of these frontier labs,” she added.
The ABF memo also calls for measures preventing workers from being left behind as SI technology advances, requiring data center companies to cover their own power costs, and encouraging developers to pursue applications that reduce consumer costs and improve medical care.
“I think that it can reshape our lives in a very healthy way if the technology is steered in the right direction, and I can see so many places where it is steered in the right direction, but voters do not see that, and they don’t see enough of it, and they want more of it,” Kelly said.
In her closing remarks, Kelly emphasized the political stakes of SI policy ahead of the 2028 elections.
“It would be political malpractice for Republicans not to adapt, not to take stock of where voters are on the issue that may be likely to be. I think it will be the preeminent issue in the 2028 elections,” Kelly said.
“That is the winning message. That is what voters have said all along, but it can’t just be PR. It has to be real,” she added. “Whichever party does that the best is going to have an edge in 2028.”
