A New York House primary has become an AI industry family feud with millions in corporate spending

NEW YORK (AP) — When New York Assemblyman Alex Bores decided to seek a promotion to Congress, the technology industry leapt into his way.Angered by Bores’ legislation regulating artificial intelligence, a political group underwritten by investors in OpenAI spent more than $7 million on ads designed to crush the former computer engineer, who’s running in the ultracompetitive June 23 Democratic primary for a Manhattan-based U.S. House district. That group, Leading the Future, counts titans of Silicon Valley, major venture capitalists and alumni of President Donald Trump’s Republican administration among its donors.

From left, Alex Bores, George Conway, Micah Lasher, and Jack Schlossberg, democratic candidates in New York’s 12th Congressional District, and Errol Louis attend “NY-12 for Congress: Candidate Forum” at 92NY, on April 15, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

Bores complained about the spending, warning that it would deter other state lawmakers and members of Congress from trying to rein in the fast-growing industry. He swiftly became a nationally recognized cautionary tale of an underdog politician battling against an overwhelming tide of tech money.

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