As Congress shows little willingness to pass legislation addressing the potential harms of artificial intelligence, New York and California have become key battlegrounds for competing interests. In New York, influenced by lobbying from giants like Meta and Google, Governor Hochul amended Assemblymember Bores's bill, relaxing penalty standards and reducing transparency requirements, aligning it more closely with legislative standards in California.
While California debated its own AI safety bill, tech companies enlisted political figures to advocate for their positions: OpenAI hired former U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler and former Chief of Staff to Governor Gavin Newsom, Ann O'Leary. Companies like Amazon brought on former State Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg.
After Governor Newsom vetoed the state legislature's initial attempt to pass an AI bill, a surge of lobbyists helped major tech companies reach a new agreement with lawmakers, which Newsom signed into law by the end of 2025.
Negotiations in other states are also intensifying. Colorado passed one of the nation's first consumer protection bills in 2024, which, for example, prohibits AI models from screening out job applicants based on race or gender, though the law has not yet taken effect. AI companies have been aggressively lobbying for amendments.
Colorado chose to delay the law's effective date until mid-2026. "We either regulate this, or we take our chances with what happens next," said State Representative Brianna Titone, one of the original bill's sponsors.
After serving three years in the state assembly, Bores entered the race for a Manhattan congressional district. His primary achievement in the assembly was spearheading the passage of that AI bill. Upon learning that veteran Representative Jerrold Nadler was retiring, Bores, a new father of just two weeks, decided to run.
The only public poll in the district shows Jack Schlossberg, a descendant of the Kennedy family, currently leading, with an endorsement from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Additionally, Nadler's protégé, Micah Lasher, who previously worked for former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is also considered a strong contender.
In January of this year, Bores announced he had raised over $2 million in campaign funds.
New York资深 political strategist Hank Sheinkopf said that aggressive advertising from the AI industry has instead helped Bores stand out. He stated that these political action committees have, in a way, made Bores the most prominent figure in this election.