Leading the Future Spent $8.15 Million to Defeat Alex Bores in NY-12, Stirring AI Backlash
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Jul 26
Leading the Future Spent $8.15 Million to Defeat Alex Bores in NY-12, Stirring AI Backlash
1 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Jul 26
Summary
$8.15 million from pro-AI PAC Leading the Future helped sink AI safety advocate Alex Bores in New York’s 12th Democratic primary, its biggest intervention yet.
The group’s leaders, Josh Vlasto and Michael Moffatt, say they aim to reshape AI politics by backing candidates who favor U.S. AI leadership and sidelining regulation-first “doomers.”
That Bores fight became the second-most expensive House primary ever and fueled warnings among Democrats that pushing strict AI rules could trigger well-funded retaliation.
The spending has also created blowback inside tech and politics, with critics accusing the PAC of trying to “buy” future members of Congress and some companies, including OpenAI, distancing themselves.
Leading the Future has already spent across 30 primaries in both parties, underscoring how AI policy is becoming a bigger electoral issue ahead of the 2026 and 2028 cycles.