In a race that attracted national attention, more than $27 million in AI‑industry money flowed into New York’s 12th congressional district Democratic primary. Assemblyman Alex Bores, a former tech employee who helped draft the RAISE Act—a set of safeguards for frontier AI companies—finished second to fellow Democrat Micah Lasher, who secured 39.1 percent of the vote against Bores' 35 percent.

Four super PACs aligned with Bores—Jobs and Democracy PAC, Dream NYC, You Can Push Back and the Guardrails Alliance—combined for $19.26 million in independent expenditures. The rival super PAC Leading the Future, backed by OpenAI, Palantir and Andreessen Horowitz executives, contributed $8.15 million to support Lasher and other anti‑regulation candidates. Federal Election Commission filings confirm the total spend, making the primary the most expensive House contest of the 2024 cycle.

Bores entered the race after his RAISE Act passed the state legislature and was signed into law last year. The bill imposed guardrails and safety requirements on AI developers, drawing ire from industry groups favoring a deregulatory agenda. Leading the Future PAC, which has a $100 million war chest, poured money into the race to counter what it saw as an existential threat to its backers’ business models.

Despite the cash influx, local political dynamics proved decisive. Lasher, long considered the protégé of retiring Congressman Jerry Nadler and backed by a super PAC tied to former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, won the endorsement of Manhattan’s establishment. The support helped him edge out Bores, whose campaign was legally barred from coordinating with the super PACs that funded him.

Other candidates lagged far behind. Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President John F. Kennedy, earned 10.8 percent, while former Republican lawyer George Conway, known for his vocal opposition to former President Donald Trump, finished a distant fifth. Nina Schwalbe captured 7.1 percent, edging Conway by a narrow margin.

The primary underscored how AI‑related spending is reshaping local elections. According to Transformer’s campaign finance tracker, AI‑industry super PACs have already disbursed $50.1 million across 19 states, with the New York race leading the tally. Analysts view the outcome as a warning that money alone cannot override entrenched local networks, even when the stakes involve the future of AI regulation.

In a statement after the loss, Bores said his campaign was never intended solely as a protest against AI giants, but that the close result demonstrated public willingness to push back against industry pressure. The general election will likely shift focus to broader national issues, yet the $27 million proxy war signals that AI policy will remain a flashpoint in upcoming contests.

This article was written with the assistance of AI.
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