A congressional primary in Manhattan has become the second most expensive House primary race ever recorded, driven almost entirely by a battle over how the federal government should regulate artificial intelligence.
The race for New York's 12th Congressional District, covering the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, and Midtown, saw $26.3 million in ad spending, according to AdImpact Politics, as reported by Fox News. The only more expensive House primary on record is Kentucky's 4th Congressional District race between Thomas Massie and Ed Gallrein, held this year, which drew $33.2 million in ad spending.
The winner was Micah Lasher, a strong advocate for stricter AI regulations, who defeated state Rep. Alex Bores in a narrow contest. Lasher secured 39% of the vote to Bores' 35%. The two were competing to replace longtime Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler.
Bores, a former data scientist at Palantir who holds a master's degree in computer science, became the central target of the race's biggest outside spenders. According to AdImpact Politics, $9.3 million was spent supporting Bores. He also faced $3.6 million in negative ads targeting him, the largest share of attack ad spending in the race.
The Silicon Valley-backed super PAC Leading the Future spent more than $8 million opposing Bores' nomination in an effort to keep tech-skeptical lawmakers out of Washington, according to the Hill. The group is funded by major tech figures including OpenAI President Greg Brockman and venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.
On the other side, multiple AI safety groups spent more than $20 million backing Bores, the Hill reported. The spending totals illustrate the deep divide within the tech community over how aggressively the federal government should regulate artificial intelligence.
Lasher received $8.6 million in support spending, while $1.6 million was spent on attack ads targeting him. Beyond the AI policy battle, billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg contributed millions of his own money to support Lasher's campaign, according to Federal Election Commission documents.
