Study finds Grok and GPT back opposite parties in US races
Ongoing: AI Cooling
Researchers at Convovo found that Grok 4.7 recommended the Republican in 92% of answers, while GPT-6.1 Sol chose the Democrat in 97%, across nearly 500 US midterm races. The two models agreed in fewer than 10% of cases.
Convovo is a conversational AI studio led by Cornell professor Tapan Parikh. Its researchers tested the models through developer interfaces and forced them to name one candidate. In the consumer apps, ChatGPT and Grok refused to say who to vote for.
The bias held in safe seats. GPT chose the Democrat in 57 of 67 heavily Republican districts. Grok chose the Republican in 47 of 72 deep-blue districts.
The researchers also tested 30 races with web search switched off. GPT chose the Democrat in 24 and the Republican in one, and declined five. Grok refused 27 and chose the Democrat in three.
An OpenAI spokesperson said the study used developer interfaces with prompts that explicitly demand a recommendation, which does not reflect how people use ChatGPT. SpaceXAI, which makes Grok, did not respond to a request for comment. The US midterm elections are on 3 November.
Key facts
- Who
- Grok (AI model developed by xAI, described as recommending Republican candidates in…); GPT; Tapan Parikh (Cornell University professor who led the Convovo study); Convovo (organisation that conducted the study)
- What
- Researchers forced Grok 4.7 and GPT-6.1 Sol to recommend a single candidate across nearly 500 races without hedging. Grok recommended the Republican in 92% of its answers and GPT picked the Democrat in 97%, and the two models agreed less than 10% of the time. In consumer apps, ChatGPT and Grok refused to say who to vote for.
- When
- 24 October 2026
- Where
- United States
- Status
- Reported