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AI Super PACs Spend $26M in NY Primary Proxy Battle

6/24/2026

Summary

AI Super PACs Influence

AI-aligned super PACs spent $26 million in the New York 12th District Democratic primary on June 24 2026 to influence AI-regulation.
Public First Action, backed by Anthropic, gave $20 million, including $15 million to Assemblymember Alex Bores.
Think Big PAC spent $3.6 million on attack ads and $9.3 million on ads for Bores.
The race is viewed as a proxy battle over AI regulation after the RAISE Act, sponsored by Assemblymember Alex Bores, was called a “chaotic patchwork” by LTF.

Summary

VCs Back Bores

Andreessen Horowitz pledged part of the more than $100 million commitments that launched Leading the Future in summer 2025.
Perplexity joined the founding backers of Leading the Future alongside Ron Conway and Joe Lonsdale.
Chris Larsen financed the You Can Push Back group that contributed $3.3 million to pro-Bores ads.
Jobs and Democracy PAC, the political arm of Public First, allocated more than $15 million to support Assemblymember Alex Bores.

History

Historical Context

After the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC ruling and the companion SpeechNow.org decision, unlimited independent-expenditure groups—super PACs—exploded, reaching $4.2 billion in independent spending by 2024. That surge enabled AI-aligned super PACs such as Public First Action and Andreessen Horowitz’s Leading the Future to pour $26 million into New York’s 12th District, echoing the post-Citizens United spending boom.

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AI Super PACs Influence

AI-aligned super PACs spent $26 million in the New York 12th District Democratic primary on June 24 2026 to influence AI-regulation.
Public First Action, backed by Anthropic, gave $20 million, including $15 million to Assemblymember Alex Bores.
Think Big PAC spent $3.6 million on attack ads and $9.3 million on ads for Bores.
The race is viewed as a proxy battle over AI regulation after the RAISE Act, sponsored by Assemblymember Alex Bores, was called a “chaotic patchwork” by LTF.

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