More than $24 million from tech-backed groups poured into the contest for New York’s 12th congressional district, making it one of the most expensive Democratic primaries in state history, according to Tech Influence Watch, a group that tracks industry political spending. The race pitted state Assembly member Alex Bores, who sponsored an AI safety bill, against Micah Lasher, a former state official with deep ties to the Democratic establishment.
Pro-AI political action committees put more than $8 million into opposing Bores, according to Tech Influence Watch, while industry groups supporting regulation spent more than $16 million to counter those attacks. Leading the Future, a super PAC opposed to Bores that is funded by OpenAI president Greg Brockman and venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, has raised more than $75 million this year, according to campaign finance data cited by The Guardian. Public First Action, which supports AI regulation, received more than $20 million from Anthropic, according to the same data.
The spending translated into a flood of attack ads. One ad backing Bores ran as a front page of the New York Daily News, mimicking a genuine news page, drawing criticism from the newsroom’s union. Ads opposing Bores, backed by pro-tech funding, included one that declared, “He’s got a master’s in computer science, but he’s an expert in hypocrisy. He made hundreds of thousands of dollars building and selling the tech for ICE, enabling ICE, and powering their deportations while making bank.”
Bores, who said he left Palantir over its work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, sent a cease-and-desist letter to Leading the Future alleging it made false statements. A statement from former Representative Brad Carson, founder of the Jobs and Democracy PAC, which is funded by Public First Action, said, “Voters want leaders who stand up to big tech and who support commonsense safeguards.”
Despite finishing second, Bores lost to Lasher, who also co-sponsored the same Raise Act AI safety bill and had the backing of the district’s outgoing representative, Jerry Nadler. The field also included Kennedy family scion Jack Schlossberg, who finished third, and former Republican George Conway.
In his victory speech, Lasher directly addressed the two AI companies that spent heavily in the race. “I have some news for the two big AI companies who’ve taken such an unusual interest in who won this congressional seat,” Lasher said. “I won’t be taking my cues from either of you when it comes to protecting our kids, our jobs, our environment.”
The race is a preview of what is expected to be a major feature of the 2026 midterm elections, as tech-backed super PACs amass hundreds of millions of dollars. Individual tech moguls such as Elon Musk, through his America PAC, and Chris Larsen, who put $3.5 million into backing Bores via the You Can Push Back super PAC, have positioned themselves to be heavily influential.