Why corporate AI super PACs spent $27 million on a local election
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- Pro-Bores super PACs backed by Anthropic and Ripple cofounder Chris Larsen spent $19.4 million combined, exceeding both Bores's own campaign spending and the $8.15 million that Leading the Future's Think Big PAC spent against him
- Anthropic is connected to two of those pro-Bores PACs: Dream NYC, which received an initial massive donation from a single Anthropic employee, and Jobs and Democracy, which is funded by Public First Action following a $20 million donation from Anthropic itself
- You Can Push Back, the super PAC created by Ripple cofounder Chris Larsen, was linked by Politico to at least eight coordinated TikTok and Instagram accounts posting pro-Bores content, the basis of rival Jack Schlossberg's astroturfing allegations
- Leading the Future, a $100 million super PAC backing pro-AI congressional candidates, began airing anti-Bores ads last year and triggered the counter-spending from safety-aligned PACs
- The Guardrails Alliance, a newly launched grassroots PAC made up of unions and tech workers, pledged $250,000 in pro-Bores advertising last week, with cofounder Shaunna Thomas telling the Times the vehicle was built to counter 'the anti-regulation A.I. tech sector' manipulating elections
- Emerson College polling from May 21st showed Bores tied with state Assemblyman Micah Lasher; George Conway is also running, and the winner becomes the de facto November victor given Manhattan's blue tilt
Why it matters: The NY-12 race tests whether AI safety positions can win beyond Silicon Valley. Pro-Bores PACs alone spent $19.4 million — more than the candidate's own campaign — while a $100 million industry super PAC targeted him for defeat. A Bores win signals to midterm candidates nationwide that AI safety is electorally viable.
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