OpenAI · New York · White House · Funding Round · Andreessen Horowitz · The Guardian Technology
New York City House primary emerges as key battleground in ‘AI civil war’
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The artificial intelligence industry is spending heavily in the 2026 midterms, hoping to secure influence over the technology’s first generation of legislation, and New York City’s primary has emerged as the key battleground.
Key facts
- The playbook is borrowed from crypto’s 2024 run, when more than $200m in Pac money helped crypto-aligned candidates win the overwhelming majority of targeted races, including the $40m campaign
- AI-focused Super Pacs have raised over $100m this cycle, of which $49m has been spent so far, in dozens of congressional races across the country
- Four donors fund its $75m war chest: venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman with his wife, Anna, according to data from the Federal Election
- Combined, the tech-funded Pacs have spent nearly $16m on the NY-12 race to counteract Leading the Future’s messaging, with ads claiming “rightwing billionaires” are trying to buy the seat, whereas
Summary
AI-focused Super Pacs have raised over $100m this cycle, of which $49m has been spent so far, in dozens of congressional races across the country. And much of that spending has targeted a single candidate: the Democratic assemblymember Alex Bores, who is running to represent New York’s 12th House district. The frenzy began a year ago, when Bores sponsored the Raise Act, the second-ever US state law requiring major AI developers to publish public safety plans. Four donors fund its $75m war chest: venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman with his wife, Anna, according to data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC).