New Polling: Battleground Voters Want AI Guardrails
Overwhelming majority of voters in toss-up House and Senate races want AI safety regulation
Originally published by the AI Policy Institute.
The American public – across party lines, in both toss-up House districts and competitive Senate seats – overwhelmingly favor proactive federal oversight to manage the risks associated with advanced artificial intelligence, new polling by the Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute (AIPI) shows.
Current data indicates that voters of all political affiliations favor mandatory AI guardrails.
- In states with competitive Senate races, 81% prefer regulatory guardrails on AI compared to just 6% who favor no regulation.
- In toss-up House districts, 81% of voters support regulatory guardrails, with only 8% opting for no regulation.
- Voters across both sides of the aisle prioritize keeping AI out of the hands of enemies, with 4:1 support in states with competitive Senate races and 69% overall in House districts.
- Additionally, in battleground Senate races, voters of all parties are significantly more concerned about the risks of AI (55%) than they are excited about its potential growth (19%).
“The message that voters are sending is clear: powerful AI technology requires safeguards and it cannot fall into the wrong hands—that’s why we need AI legislation now,” said Mark Beall, President of Government Affairs at the AI Policy Network. “Our polling consistently shows that voters across the political spectrum are deeply concerned about the risks of AI and want lawmakers to act.”
About the polling
The poll focusing on House districts was conducted by the AI Policy Institute with an online sample of 2830 likely voters fielded over web panels from January 17, 2026 to January 21, 2026 and weighted by gender, race, education, 2024 presidential results, and age. Respondents were also weighted by whether they passed attention checks. The margin of error is 2.4%. Districts polled: IA-03, PA-07, VA-01, CA-48, NY-17, MI-07, WI-03, CO-08, AZ-06, NJ-07
The full toplines are available here and crosstabs here.
The poll focusing on states was conducted by the AI Policy Institute with an online sample of 3969 likely voters fielded over web panels from February 02, 2026 to February 08, 2026 and weighted by gender, race, education, 2024 presidential results, and age. Respondents were also weighted by whether they passed attention checks. The margin of error is 2.1%. States polled: Alaska, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota
The full toplines are available here and crosstabs here.
About the AI Policy Institute and the AI Policy Network
The Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute is an AI policy and research firm. AIPI educates policymakers and the public about the urgent need for public oversight of AI to mitigate the catastrophic risks posed by superintelligence. AIPI’s sister advocacy organization, the AI Policy Network, works to build support for a policy agenda that will prepare the United States for advanced AI.
