Fabrizio Poll: Backing National AI Standard Boosts Candidates

Congressional candidates who support a single national standard for artificial intelligence to protect children and empower parents gain a decisive political advantage, according to polling conducted by Fabrizio Ward for Building America's Future.

Of 1,000 registered voters surveyed Dec. 15–17, 53% said it's better to have one national standard set by the federal government when it comes to AI, compared with 33% who said it was better to allow each state to set their own standard that could be different from national regulations.

The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1% at the 95% confidence level.

The federal approach has double-digit margins of support among Trump voters, swing voters (those voters who typically do not vote straight party ticket), and former Vice President Kamala Harris voters.

President Donald Trump earlier this month said he would withhold federal broadband funding from states whose laws to regulate AI are judged by his administration to be holding back American dominance in the technology.

"We want to have one central source of approval," Trump told reporters, flanked by top advisers, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, arguing that 50 different regulatory regimes hamper the growth of the nascent industry.

"To win, United States AI companies must be free to innovate without cumbersome regulation," the order said, adding that the current patchwork of different regulatory regimes made compliance more challenging, especially for startups.

Trump has embraced AI as a critical technology, working closely with U.S. companies to boost investment in a sector where China has also made great strides.

But critics worry that unfettered development could leave Americans vulnerable.

The order also reflects the Trump administration's broader attack against anti-discrimination efforts, taking aim at states such as Colorado that have sought to prevent discriminatory language from being embedded in AI models.

Such efforts could result in "ideological bias" and produce false results, it said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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