OpenAI's Chris Lehane Says 2028 Will Be "The AI Election"

A memo that calls the next presidential race

Chris Lehane, OpenAI's chief global affairs officer, argues that AI will be the number-one issue of the 2028 presidential election. ^[1] He thinks the race could be a defining moment for AI. ^[2]

His memo is titled '2028: The AI Election'. ^[1] It compares the 2028 race to the 1932 election, when industrialization had broken down the old social contract and FDR's New Deal reimagined it. ^[1]

The memo also says 2028 will feature the first truly wide-open Democratic presidential primary since 1992. ^[1]

Why Lehane reaches for the New Deal

In a new essay, Lehane compares AI's potential to reshape the economy to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. ^[2] The New Deal was a 1930s set of federal programs and reforms enacted after industrialization and the Great Depression shattered the old economic order. ^[2]

The memo describes AI as a general purpose technology on the scale of the wheel, the printing press, and electricity. ^[1] It states that half of Americans already use an AI tool at least a few times a week. ^[1]

Lehane urges politicians to find a 'compelling third path' that allows people to share in AI's benefits. ^[2] He wants them to develop policies that address Americans' concerns about AI, rather than paying lip service to anti-AI sentiment and the backlash against data centers. ^[2]

The political backdrop

The essay follows a Democratic victory in the midterm elections, in which Democrats flipped control of Congress amid widespread voter frustration over the cost of living. ^[2] Opposition to data centers emerged as a major bipartisan concern in several races in the 2026 midterms. ^[2]

Affordability is shaping up as a key issue for 2028 as Americans grapple with inflation, tariffs, and the rising cost of living. ^[2]

The polling Lehane cites

In polling Lehane has seen, 65% of voters said AI would be important to their 2026 choices. ^[1] By early October 2026, one in five ads aired by Democratic candidates or groups mentioned data centers. ^[1]

In polling Lehane conducted, voters preferred a candidate who leads their party in shaping AI policy over one who follows it by a 25-point margin. ^[1] Despite safety concerns, 66% of voters supported continued AI development. ^[1] That group includes 53% who wanted stronger safeguards and oversight, while 24% favored a pause. ^[1]

The memo reports that 41% of voters expect people like themselves to benefit financially from AI over the next five years. ^[1] A far larger 84% expect AI to benefit the richest 1%. ^[1]

Five priorities

Lehane lays out five policy priorities spanning worker protections and education to AI safety and data center development. ^[2] He suggests tax code incentives for workers to learn AI skills, easier capital access for entrepreneurs, and new approaches to employee ownership and profit-sharing. ^[2]

The memo rules out both simply taxing AI and giving AI companies another tax break. ^[1] It names the American Federation of Teachers and North America's Building Trades Unions as partners. ^[1] It also states that OpenAI's Piketon compute campus alone will need 25,000 skilled tradespeople. ^[1]

On data centers, Lehane warns that politicians who support a moratorium could jeopardize America's lead over China. ^[2] He compares that stance to the 2002 vote to authorize the Iraq war. ^[2] The memo says OpenAI analysts uncovered likely Communist Party influence operations that generated social media content claiming AI buildouts were increasing household electric bills. ^[1]

Safety, control and OpenAI's record

The memo's first question asks how candidates will keep AI safe and people in control. ^[1] It calls for enforceable safety standards, independent assessments, the ability to restrict or shut down systems, and public oversight. ^[1] Lehane's essay likewise calls for enforceable AI safety standards, independent evaluations, public oversight, and the ability to restrict AI systems or use a kill switch. ^[2]

He argues that people should maintain control over consequential decisions made using AI, rather than handing off judgment entirely to machines. ^[2] In a September 9, 2026 post on OpenAI's website, Lehane called for mandatory, capability-based national AI safety regulation and announced OpenAI's support for four California bills. ^[1]

In 2024, OpenAI opposed California's AI safety bill SB 1047, which would have mandated catastrophic risk evaluations and shutdown capabilities. ^[2] The company has more recently shifted some positions, backing several state safety laws and saying it would be open to independent evaluators embedded in the company. ^[2]

Kate Brennan of the AI Now Institute said Lehane's rhetoric marks a notable shift from OpenAI's prior policy agenda, which focused on accelerating AI development, reducing regulatory barriers, and expanding infrastructure. ^[2] She also called Lehane's stances 'disingenuous,' pointing to OpenAI's history of opposing legislation designed to impose such measures. ^[2]

AI and the voter

Lehane's essay describes a future in which AI plays a defining role in the relationship between citizens and the state. ^[3] AI could help voters compare proposals, navigate government services, understand complex legislation and communicate their priorities to elected officials. ^[3]

An AI assistant does not need to endorse a candidate explicitly to shape an election. ^[3] It could influence users through the questions it asks, the sources it highlights, and the language it uses. ^[3]