New York Assemblyman Alex Bores sought a promotion to Congress, but the technology industry moved quickly to intervene. A political group underwritten by investors in OpenAI has deployed a massive advertising campaign designed to defeat the former computer engineer.
The group, Leading the Future, has spent more than $7 million on ads targeting Bores. The organization counts titans of Silicon Valley, major venture capitalists, and alumni of President Donald Trump’s Republican administration among its donors, according to an Associated Press report.
The financial barrage stems directly from Bores’ legislative record in the state Assembly. Industry investors grew angered by the lawmaker’s push for legislation regulating artificial intelligence, prompting a coordinated spending effort to crush his congressional bid.
Bores is running in the ultracompetitive June 23 Democratic primary for a Manhattan-based U.S. House district. The race has drawn national attention as a proxy battle over the future of technology regulation in the United States.
The primary field features several high-profile Democratic candidates. Alongside Bores, the roster includes George Conway, Micah Lasher, Jack Schlossberg, and Errol Louis, all of whom competed in a candidate forum at 92NY in Manhattan on April 15.
The intervention by Leading the Future illustrates the growing willingness of technology executives to deploy vast financial resources in down-ballot and local races. Rather than relying solely on traditional lobbying, the industry is testing direct electoral spending to shape the regulatory environment.
Bores’ background as a computer engineer places him in a unique position within the legislature to draft technical AI policies. His proposed regulations apparently crossed a threshold for OpenAI’s financial backers, triggering the multi-million-dollar response.
The presence of Trump administration alumni among the donors of Leading the Future adds a layer of bipartisan complexity to the spending. The coalition suggests that opposition to state-level AI regulation transcends traditional partisan divides among the technology sector’s financial elite.
As the June 23 primary approaches, the $7 million advertising blitz ensures that artificial intelligence policy will remain a defining issue for voters in the Manhattan district. The race now serves as a national bellwether for how effectively the technology sector can translate its wealth into electoral outcomes at the state and federal level.