AI PACs Pour $20 Million Into New York Congressional Primary Over Regulation Battle

Artificial intelligence companies have funneled more than $20 million into a single New York Democratic primary race, turning a Manhattan congressional district into a proxy battle over how heavily the federal government should regulate AI.

The contest in New York's 12th congressional district pits state Assemblyman Alex Bores against fellow Assemblyman Micah Lasher and Jack Schlossberg, a grandson of President John F. Kennedy. Because the district leans heavily Democratic, the winner of the primary is all but certain to be sworn into Congress next year.

Two of the largest AI-aligned super PACs are both active in the race — the first congressional contest where that has occurred.

Leading the Future, backed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, and AI software company Perplexity, spent $8 million opposing Bores, who was a driving force behind New York state legislation requiring safety and security regulation for powerful AI models.

On the other side, Public First Action — which has received $20 million from Anthropic — spent $11 million supporting Bores, according to Federal Election Commission data.

Public First Action President Brad Carson said while the group does not disclose its donors publicly, it has received support from employees at major AI companies, whom he described as "mid-level people who are very scared about where the technology is going."

The two PACs represent divergent visions for AI oversight. Leading the Future favors lighter guardrails, while Public First Action advocates for restrictions on both the outputs of AI models and how those models are built.

"Safety should be designed into the AI models," Carson said. "Regulating the outputs long, long, long after said problem has arisen does very little justice to the people who are harmed by the AI."

Leading the Future co-leader Josh Vlasto said in a statement that the PAC "supports passing a national regulatory framework for AI that creates jobs for American workers, helps America win the race against China, and includes strong guardrails that protects the safety of kids, users, and communities."

Bores, an engineer and computer scientist who previously worked at Palantir, pushed back on the framing that regulation and competitiveness are at odds.

"Regulation is not going to be the reason we win or lose this race versus China," Bores told reporters Monday as he campaigned outside a subway stop. "We can invest in AI that's meant to help doctors diagnose disease, without encouraging the AI that's helping healthcare deny claims. We can get the best of both worlds."

Several smaller PACs have also entered the race on the pro-regulation side. Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen contributed $3 million in support of Bores through a PAC named You Can Push Back. Anthropic's Dan Ziegler donated to another super PAC, DREAM NYC. A group called Guardrails Alliance has spent roughly $258,000, aiming to amplify the concerns of OpenAI employees about political spending by some of the company's executives.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order asking AI companies to voluntarily provide models to the federal government for assessment of their capabilities ahead of a full release, adding a federal dimension to a debate playing out at the state and district level.

Recent polling shows Bores and Lasher running neck-and-neck, with Schlossberg also considered a serious contender. Eight candidates are on the ballot in total, including lawyer George Conway.

Even a Bores loss may not signal a clear shift away from regulation. Lasher voted to approve New York's AI regulatory bill in the state Assembly, and his campaign website states that the country "can't leave it up to Big Tech to regulate itself," signaling that the underlying policy debate will follow the district's eventual winner to Washington regardless of the outcome.

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