A once-obscure New York state assemblyman has become the unlikely flashpoint in Silicon Valley's biggest political battle. OpenAI and Anthropic are pouring millions into opposing sides of the Democratic primary for New York's 12th congressional district, turning Alex Bores - author of some of the nation's strictest AI safety legislation - into a household name through their attempts to destroy his political career. The clash represents the AI industry's most aggressive foray into electoral politics, with the Streisand effect turning their attack campaign into Bores' best fundraising and publicity tool.
OpenAI and Anthropic are locked in an unprecedented political death match, and the battlefield is a congressional race most Americans couldn't find on a map. By the time New York's 12th district Democratic primary wraps in June, these AI giants will have collectively spent millions trying to decide the fate of Alex Bores, a state assemblyman whose crime was putting pen to paper on AI safety legislation.
The irony is almost too perfect. In their effort to bury Bores politically, they've made him famous.
Since late 2025, Leading the Future - a super PAC bankrolled by executives from OpenAI, Palantir, and Andreessen Horowitz - has dumped millions into attack ads against Bores, according to reporting by The Verge. The spending blitz marks one of the most aggressive attempts by AI companies to directly shape electoral outcomes, signaling just how high the stakes have become in the fight over who gets to regulate artificial intelligence.
Bores' offense? As a New York state assemblyman, he drafted some of the nation's most stringent AI safety regulations, establishing guardrails that companies like OpenAI view as existential threats to their business models. The legislation touched on algorithmic accountability, mandatory safety testing, and liability frameworks - exactly the kind of oversight that keeps tech executives up at night.
But here's where the strategy spectacularly backfired. Anthropic, which has positioned itself as the "safety-focused" alternative to OpenAI, saw an opportunity. The company is now funding counter-campaigns supporting Bores, creating a direct proxy war between two of AI's most influential players. What started as an attempt to eliminate a regulatory threat has morphed into a highly visible corporate cage match, with Bores as the unlikely prize.
The Streisand effect is in full force. Before the spending war began, Bores was grinding through a competitive but low-profile primary race. Now he's the poster child for AI safety regulation, fielding national media interviews and watching donations pour in from voters energized by the narrative of a local politician standing up to Big Tech billions. Every attack ad becomes free publicity. Every million spent against him generates another wave of grassroots support.
The battle over NY-12 isn't just about one congressional seat. It's a preview of how AI companies plan to wield political influence as regulatory pressure intensifies nationwide. OpenAI has faced mounting scrutiny over safety practices, particularly after high-profile departures of researchers concerned about the company's approach to AI risk. Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI executives, has built its brand partly on being more cautious - though critics note the company still resists binding regulation.
The involvement of Andreessen Horowitz and Palantir in the anti-Bores campaign reveals broader Silicon Valley anxiety about regulatory frameworks taking shape at the state level. With federal AI legislation stalled in congressional gridlock, states like New York and California have moved aggressively to fill the vacuum. Tech investors view this patchwork approach as an operational nightmare, but their hamfisted attempts to stop it may be accelerating the very movement they fear.
Political strategists watching the race are stunned by the tactical miscalculation. Pouring millions into a Democratic primary to defeat a candidate over policy positions typically breeds backlash in progressive districts like NY-12, where voters are already skeptical of corporate influence. The spending has allowed Bores to run as the underdog fighting monied interests - traditionally one of the most effective narratives in Democratic politics.
For Anthropic, backing Bores offers a chance to differentiate itself from OpenAI while scoring points with the AI safety community that forms part of its base. But the move also exposes the company to charges of hypocrisy if Bores, once elected, pushes for regulations Anthropic finds inconvenient. It's a high-stakes gamble that the publicity benefits outweigh the potential policy downsides.
The race has become a litmus test for AI's political power and limits. If Bores wins despite the spending against him, it sends a chilling message to tech companies about the effectiveness of brute-force political intervention. If he loses, expect to see similar campaigns targeting pro-regulation candidates nationwide. Either way, the era of AI companies staying above the political fray is definitively over.
What happens in NY-12 will reverberate far beyond one congressional district. Legislators in other states are watching to see whether taking on AI regulation comes with an acceptable political cost or career-ending consequences. The outcome could determine whether the next generation of AI oversight comes from thoughtful policy debates or raw demonstrations of corporate political muscle.
The NY-12 primary has become more than a local race - it's a referendum on whether AI companies can buy political outcomes when regulation threatens their interests. What's clear is that the millions spent attacking Alex Bores have achieved the opposite of their intended effect, transforming an assemblyman into a national figure and providing a masterclass in how not to wield political influence. As the June primary approaches, both the AI industry and lawmakers nationwide are learning an expensive lesson about the limits of corporate political power when it collides with grassroots backlash. Win or lose, Bores has already secured his place as the face of AI regulation resistance, and that's a victory no super PAC money can undo.
