Anthropic-funded group backs candidate attacked by rival AI super PAC | TechCrunch

Late last year, New York Assembly member Alex Bores became the target of a campaign by a pro-AI super PAC to thwart his congressional bid. The group, Leading the Future, is armed with more than $100 million from backers including Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, AI search startup Perplexity, and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale.

Bores’ response to was simple: bring it on. Now, he’s got the muscle to back that challenge up.

Public First Action, a PAC backed by a $20 million donation from Anthropic, is spending $450,000 to boost Bores in the race for New York’s 12th congressional district, reports Bloomberg. Like its rival, the committee is pro-AI, but it’s pitching a different vision, one centered on transparency, safety standards, and public oversight.

Meanwhile, the industry-backed PAC, Leading the Future, has already poured $1.1 million into ads attacking Bores, largely because he sponsored New York’s RAISE Act, which requires major AI developers to disclose safety protocols and report serious misuse of their systems.