# AIPAC, AI, Crypto and Gambling Are Hiding Their Big Election Spends

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-intercept-briefing-951534/aipac-ai-crypto-and-gambling-are-hiding-their-big-election-spends
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-intercept-briefing-951534/aipac-ai-crypto-and-gambling-are-hiding-their-big-election-spends.md
Podcast: [The Intercept Briefing](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-intercept-briefing-951534)
Published: 2026-05-22T09:30:00+00:00
Episode link: https://theintercept.com/2026/05/22/aipac-ai-crypto-and-gambling-are-hiding-their-big-election-spends/
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/f5b64019-68c3-57d4-b70b-043e63e5cbf6/e/6a0f75e980978431dabe9974/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-intercept-briefing-951534/episodes/aipac-ai-crypto-and-gambling-are-hiding-their-big-election-spends
Duration seconds: 1593

## Resource

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie was decisively ousted on Tuesday night in his Kentucky primary, a win for President Donald Trump, who had launched an all-out attack on the congressman for his role in pushing for the release of the Epstein files. But in Pennsylvania, the left had a lot to celebrate. Chris Rabb won by nearly 15 points in Philadelphia in a major win for progressives. And Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter and union head, sailed to victory with the support of both the left and moderates.  Mysterious super PACs with ties to Republican donors poured millions into influencing the election results in both states with varying degrees of success. In Kentucky, AIPAC’s super political action committee and two other groups backed by pro-Israel donors spent more than $15 million in opposition to Massie or in support of his opponent, according to Federal Election Commission reports released through Tuesday.  In Pennsylvania, advertisements from Lead Left — a super PAC that reportedly has ties to Republican donors — dropped ads attacking two of the candidates as not progressive enough, leading to speculation that Republicans were trying to prop up a weaker candidate for the general election.  This week on The Intercept Briefing, host Jessica Washington and politics reporter Matt Sledge break down the contentious primary races, the record-level campaign spending and how obscure groups funding the midterm elections are hiding donors' tracks. “Groups can kind of game campaign finance deadlines and create super PACs to funnel money to other super PACs so that reporting deadlines are missed and use these ‘pop-up super PACs’ to ensure that ordinary voters never find out who is funding ads before a campaign happens,” says Sledge. “Sometimes there's even a second…

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