AI proxy war elevates obscure New York candidate Alex Bores
Despite millions in attack advertising from a super PAC backed by OpenAI, candidate Alex Bores has emerged as a serious contender in New York’s 12th congressional district race.
A high-stakes political proxy battle between artificial intelligence giants OpenAI and Anthropic has inadvertently elevated the profile of Alex Bores, a former Palantir employee and author of New York’s RAISE Act. While the companies have spent millions attempting to influence the outcome of the special election in New York’s 12th congressional district, the spending has instead made Bores a front-runner in the Democratic primary, polling within two points of leader Micah Lasher.
Leading the Future, a super PAC funded by OpenAI and other tech executives, has spent an estimated $2.4 million on attack advertisements against Bores since December 2025. The group, which also includes backers such as Palantir and a16z, aimed to diminish Bores’ candidacy by highlighting his previous employment at Palantir and his stance on AI regulation. However, the campaign’s strategy has backfired, providing Bores with significant free media exposure and raising voter awareness of his platform.
Bores’ own campaign has been notably lean, placing its first paid advertisement in New York on May 11, nearly seven months after he entered the race. This contrasts sharply with the aggressive spending by Leading the Future, which recently saw its affiliated Think Big PAC spend $120,000 on a single anti-Bores ad. Political operatives note that the New York media market is the most expensive in the country, making the free visibility generated by the opposition’s attacks a substantial asset for Bores.
The dynamic shifted further in February when Anthropic, positioning itself as a pro-regulation force, donated $20 million to Public First Action. This group established the Jobs and Democracy PAC to support Bores, directly opposing Leading the Future. The influx of capital and subsequent coverage from major outlets such as The New York Times and The New Yorker has transformed Bores from an obscure state assemblyman into a nationally recognised figure in the debate over AI safety.
Internal polling for Bores indicates that voters exposed to negative information about him were actually more inclined to support him, suggesting the attacks reinforced his identity as a regulatory advocate. With the election scheduled for June 23, Bores has capitalised on the narrative that he is the candidate being targeted by Silicon Valley billionaires, effectively turning a corporate opposition campaign into a campaign asset.
