Background and Campaign Context

Alex Bores, a New York assemblymember, previously worked for Palantir, the artificial‑intelligence firm known for providing technology to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Bores left Palantir in 2019, citing disagreement with the company's work for ICE. He is now running for New York’s 12th congressional district and has become a focal point for a new wave of political spending from the technology sector.

Super PAC Opposition

The super PAC Leading the Future has announced a spending commitment of at least $10 million to defeat Bores. The PAC’s backers include Palantir co‑founder Joe Lonsdale, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, venture‑capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, AI search startup Perplexity, and other Silicon Valley investors. The group has raised $125 million overall to target candidates involved in state AI legislation and to support those who favor a light‑to‑no‑touch regulatory approach.

Bores’ Policy Stance

Bores authored the RAISE Act, an AI transparency bill that became law, requiring large AI labs with revenue over $500 million to publish safety plans and report catastrophic incidents. He argues that federal regulation, not state‑level restrictions, is the appropriate path for AI governance. His campaign proposes a national AI blueprint covering eight issue areas and 43 policy recommendations, including mandatory disclosure of training‑data sources and metadata standards for synthetic content.

Industry Funding Landscape

Leading the Future is not the only tech‑backed political conduit. Meta has contributed $65 million to two super PACs aimed at electing state‑level candidates friendly to the AI and tech industry. Across 2025, AI companies, industry groups, and senior executives donated at least $83 million to federal campaigns and committees. Another PAC, Public First Action, which is backed by Anthropic, is spending $450 000 on Bores’ race and describes itself as pro‑AI with an emphasis on transparency and safety.

Impact and Reaction

Bores contends that the spending represents an intimidation effort aimed at silencing elected officials who oppose unchecked AI development. He notes that typical New York assembly races raise roughly $100 000, making the multi‑million‑dollar outlays an extraordinary deviation from the norm. While some tech workers support Bores, others align with the donors seeking minimal regulation. Bores believes most Americans sit between embracing AI’s benefits and fearing its rapid advancement, questioning whether government can ensure a future that benefits the many rather than the few.

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