U.S tech companies are allegedly spending millions of dollars in efforts to stop one of their own from gaining a seat in the U.S. Congress, not because he lacks tech credentials, but because he wants stricter rules around artificial intelligence.
Assembly Member Alex Bores, a former Silicon Valley executive and computer science graduate now running for New York’s 12th District, has found himself targeted by an unprecedented political war chest assembled by AI industry heavyweights. According to TechCrunch, backers of the super PAC ‘Leading the Future’, including major names from venture capital and the leadership of large AI companies, have raised over $125 million to defeat candidates seen as too eager to impose oversight.
U.S AI companies do not want Bores to run for Congress because he represents a credible, technically fluent voice for stricter artificial intelligence regulation at the federal level. Unlike career politicians who may rely heavily on industry briefings, Bores understands how large AI systems are built and deployed, and has previously pushed for mandatory safety disclosures, accountability standards, and enforceable guardrails for powerful AI labs.
For major AI firms and their investors, that combination of insider knowledge and regulatory ambition poses a real threat to their preferred light-touch policy environment. Industry-backed groups view his candidacy as a risk that Congress could move toward binding safety requirements, liability frameworks, and transparency rules that might slow product rollouts or increase compliance costs. In short, it is not that he is anti-technology; it is that he is positioned to regulate it effectively.
What makes this clash so striking is that Bores’ background is steeped in the tech world he’s challenging. He once worked at a high-profile data analytics firm but left over ethical objections. And since entering public office, he has championed the RAISE Act, a legislation that forces large AI labs to disclose safety plans and report serious safety failures. Those positions have put him at odds with powerful Silicon Valley interests that prefer lighter regulation.
The campaign against him has gone beyond typical political ads. Industry-backed groups are spending more on attack messaging in a single assembly race than many entire statewide contests, framing Bores as out of step with innovation and warning that tighter rules could hamper AI growth. For tech giants and investors, who are already spending huge sums lobbying federal policymakers, this fight is about setting the tone for how the U.S. regulates AI before the next Congress even convenes.
Supporters of Bores argue that his tech experience makes him uniquely qualified to shape federal policy, not a threat to progress. But the heavy industry spending shows how high the stakes have become: the future of AI oversight is now being debated not just in think tanks and regulatory filings, but at the heart of a congressional campaign.
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