The anticipated high-stakes political contest between rival AI companies, Anthropic and OpenAI, concluded in a stalemate last night regarding the NY-12 Democratic primary. Assemblyman Alex Bores, who saw a surge in popularity after becoming the target of a pro-AI super PAC, ultimately lost his bid to represent New York’s 12th Congressional district, indicating that neither major AI player achieved a decisive victory or defeat for him.
The intense, $27 million political proxy battle between Anthropic and OpenAI for influence in the NY-12 primary concluded without a clear winner. New York state Assemblyman Alex Bores, whose public profile significantly rose after becoming the focus of a pro-AI super PAC, narrowly failed in his campaign for the Democratic nomination to represent New York’s 12th Congressional district. This outcome suggests neither side fully achieved its objectives regarding Bores's candidacy.
Before this electoral contest, Bores, a former professional in the tech sector, had gained prominence for co-authoring and successfully passing the RAISE Act. This significant legislation established crucial guardrails and safety mandates for advanced AI companies, with a version signed into state law last year. However, this bill provoked strong opposition from "Leading the Future," a super PAC with a $100 million budget advocating for a deregulatory approach in this year's midterm elections, partially funded by executives from OpenAI, Palantir, and Andreessen Horowitz. In response, Bores's campaign garnered national attention as several other AI-focused super PACs, reportedly linked to Anthropic, began injecting millions into the NY-12 race to support him. (It is important to note that Bores's campaign was legally prohibited from coordinating with these super PACs.) Ultimately, Bores, who was previously less known, secured second place with 35 percent of the vote, trailing Assemblyman Micah Lasher, who received 39.1 percent, based on the latest ballot count.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, the AI industry's collective expenditure on Bores’s candidacy amounted to $27.41 million. Super PACs supporting Bores—Jobs and Democracy PAC, Dream NYC, You Can Push Back, and the Guardrails Alliance—contributed a combined $19.26 million. In contrast, "Leading the Future" spent $8.15 million. This substantial financial outlay for a single local primary election was extraordinary, underscoring its perceived role as a crucial indicator for the broader midterm elections, particularly concerning the future of AI regulation.
However, Bores’s defeat was influenced by several factors extending beyond the discourse surrounding AI. Local Manhattan politics, in particular, likely played the most significant role. The 35-year-old assemblyman faced a formidable opponent in Micah Lasher, who was widely regarded as the protégé of the district’s retiring Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and benefited from the backing of a super PAC led by former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg. (Notably, Lasher himself had been a co-sponsor of the RAISE Act.) The robust support from the city’s political establishment ultimately secured Lasher’s victory. Despite his loss, Bores surpassed two other prominent candidates: Jack Schlossberg, the 33-year-old grandson of President John F. Kennedy, who finished third with 10.8 percent, and George Conway, the former Republican lawyer known for his vocal opposition to Donald Trump, who unexpectedly placed a distant fifth, behind Nina Schwalbe, with only 7.1 percent of the vote.
Nonetheless, the national perspective on Bores’s campaign took on a distinct significance due to the affiliations of three super PACs supporting him. These entities were reportedly backed by industry players who are critical of OpenAI and other proponents of a pro-innovation, anti-regulatory stance within the tech sector. Specifically, Jobs and Democracy PAC was financed by Public First, a super PAC that had received a $20 million donation from Anthropic, a rival company known for its focus on AI regulation. Dream NYC obtained substantial funding from Dan Ziegler, an early employee of Anthropic. Furthermore, You Can Fight Back was supported by a $3.5 million donation from crypto billionaire and Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, who explicitly stated to The New York Times his intention to counter OpenAI’s growing influence.
In his statement congratulating Lasher on his win, Bores clarified that his initial motivation for entering the race was not to make “a singular point about AI.” However, he contended that his unexpectedly strong performance underscored a political dynamic that could extend into the general elections. Bores declared, “Though we’ve come up short tonight, the example set here was not the one the AI oligarchs intended. They set out to make people afraid to stand up to them. Instead, they learned just how ready people are to push back.”
The upcoming general election, however, is anticipated to present a distinct political landscape. While the NY-12 seat is almost certainly destined to remain Democratic in November, partisan contests for gubernatorial and congressional positions nationwide will increasingly hinge on Republican candidates' alignment with Donald Trump, whose stance on AI regulation has shown growing unpredictability. Numerous other elements will also influence voter decisions, including inflation, the conflict with Iran, and the issue of data centers—which, while a nationwide concern, did not significantly impact the Manhattan race. Nevertheless, AI industry super PACs have already initiated multi-million dollar spending campaigns in other races across the country. According to Transformer’s campaign finance tracker, both factions have collectively spent $50.1 million across 19 states, with the NY-12 primary being the most costly, followed by the recent Texas primaries, where $4.6 million was expended across seven different races.
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