Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Some of the closest Senate races in the country could lead to substantially different outcomes on the future of major tech issues. Here's our look at the key races that will have implications for tech policy next Congress:
1. Ohio: Sen. Sherrod Brown vs. Bernie Moreno
Brown has helped secure CHIPS and Science Act R&D money and private investment from Intel for Ohio.
- He also helped introduce the Building Chips in America Act, which will be signed into law soon to prevent delays in CHIPS implementation.
- In this toss-up race, Brown is facing Republican Bernie Moreno, whose campaign has received more than $38 million from the cryptocurrency industry.
- Moreno is running on the belief that China is stealing U.S. jobs and influencing young Americans through TikTok.
- Brown also has been aggressive toward China, calling for a ban on electric vehicles made there and blocking tax money from going to Chinese solar companies.
2. Michigan: Rep. Elissa Slotkin vs. Mike Rogers
On the Hill, Slotkin serves on one subcommittee focused on biotechnology and another on cybersecurity and innovative tech.
- Her priorities include bringing "critical supply chains and manufacturing back home," and she co-sponsored CHIPS to protect her state's auto industry.
- In this toss-up race, Slotkin faces Rogers, a House member from 2001 to 2015 who served on the Energy and Commerce tech subcommittee.
- Both candidates take a tough stance against China and its impact on U.S. jobs and national security.
- What they're saying: "Chinese dominance means its apps and tools are in the hands of every American, affording Beijing unparalleled access to every citizen," Rogers wrote in an op-ed last year, naming TikTok.
3. Nevada: Sen. Jacky Rosen vs. Sam Brown
Rosen, a former computer programmer, serves on the Commerce Committee. As a House member from 2017 to 2019, she served on the lower chamber's Science Committee.
- She pushed to break down barriers for STEM education in rural areas as part of CHIPS, several of her cybersecurity proposals have passed into law, and her Advancing American AI Innovation Act passed last Congress.
- Rosen led the effort to pass the Affordable Connectivity Program and helped write the broadband section of the bipartisan infrastructure law.
- Rosen is in a competitive race against Sam Brown, whose campaign website says Big Tech abuses its power, silences conservative voices and should be held accountable by "vigorously" enforcing antitrust laws.
- Brown views cryptocurrencies and blockchain as the "the future of our financial system" and says he wants Congress to establish clear guidelines for companies.
- Rosen calls for "smart" regulation of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
4. California: Rep. Adam Schiff vs. Steve Garvey
Rep. Adam Schiff has a long history in the House, serving on the Intelligence Committee and grilling Big Tech companies on election interference and national security issues.
- Garvey's campaign site mentions cutting red tape and regulations, but not tech specifically. He also supports trade and apprenticeship programs as an alternative path to college.
- During a February debate with other California candidates, he touted AI for its promise in medicine. But he said it would ultimately have to be regulated, especially if it ends up taking jobs.
- Schiff introduced an AI transparency bill in April and another in September to combat fraudulent AI election ads. In the past, he's pressed tech companies on COVID and election misinformation.
- Serving a Los Angeles-area district for many years, Schiff is familiar with California's own strong tech bills, and getting along with the industries in his backyard, which leans more Hollywood than Silicon Valley.
5. Texas: Sen. Ted Cruz vs. Colin Allred
Cruz, currently ranking member on Senate Commerce, has been involved in tech policy debates on everything from broadband to Big Tech's power.
- He's a top contender to lead the Commerce Committee if he wins and the Republicans flip the Senate.
- Cruz supports efforts to regulate kids online privacy, including keeping them off social media altogether, and wants to limit Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
- He has repeatedly alleged social media companies of censoring conservative viewpoints, and is co-author of the Take it Down Act, an AI and nonconsensual imagery bill.
- Allred has worked on broadband access and connectivity issues on the Hill as a House Transportation Committee member.
6. Montana: Sen. Jon Tester vs. Tim Sheehy
Another longtime Senate Commerce member, Tester has been committed to expanding rural broadband access and tech infrastructure across his state and in other underserved areas.
- Early this year, he hosted a roundtable on AI and its potential impact on veterans' access to health care.
- Sheehy, endorsed by former President Trump, is a former Navy SEAL and businessman without a policy record to point to, but his website describes him as anti-regulation.
