Micah Lasher wins New York primary to succeed his political mentor in star-studded contest

From the article:

New York Assembly member Micah Lasher won the Democratic primary Tuesday to succeed his political mentor Rep. Jerrold Nadler in the House, following a bitter primary that started as a celebrity contest and evolved into a proxy war between AI giants.

The district is a solidly blue seat, meaning Lasher is likely to win the general election in November. The New York City-based district is one of the richest and most highly educated and has sent liberal icons to Congress. Lasher was endorsed by Nadler and favored by many of New York’s top Democrats.

[...]

In the final weeks of the race, Lasher was in a close contest with Bores as the primary evolved into a spendathon between AI firms OpenAI and Anthropic, which each poured millions into super PACs to influence the race.

The race wound up among the most expensive House primaries in New York history, with more than $26 million spent on TV ads alone, according to the political tracking firm AdImpact.

[...]

Bores became a target of groups funded by investors behind OpenAI after shepherding a high-profile AI regulatory bill through the state assembly last year. His RAISE Act created new safety standards for AI developers including multimillion dollar penalties in New York state. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed the bill into law in December, and Bores vowed to advance similar legislation federally if elected to Congress.

[...]

Bores said the multi-million dollar effort against him was a warning from the AI industry to other Democrats not to pass robust AI regulation. During his concession speech Tuesday night, he urged Democrats “to look at this campaign, not as a cautionary tale, but as a blueprint to take into the future.”

Still, Bores also had deep-pocketed super PACs in his corner, including AI interests — something the OpenAI allies gleefully pointed out. A super PAC funded heavily by Anthropic, Open AI’s most prominent rival, spent more than $4 million in television ads supporting Bores, according to AdImpact. Total spending from Anthropic’s allies for Bores exceeded $10 million. Crypto tycoon Chris Larsen also committed more than $3 million to support Bores.

Anthropic and OpenAI have engaged in a bitter rivalry that has included competing political funding throughout the midterms. OpenAI has supported federal regulations for AI, while Anthropic has backed state-level legislation akin to Bores’s.