{"id":612,"date":"2026-06-23T09:37:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T09:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=612"},"modified":"2026-06-23T09:37:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T09:37:43","slug":"this-democratic-primary-will-test-if-voters-care-about-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=612","title":{"rendered":"This Democratic Primary Will Test if Voters Care About AI"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Alex Bores, a New York state Assembly member who is running for an open House seat, has made artificial intelligence regulation the central pillar of his campaign.<\/p>\n

Read more How Janeese Lewis George Won D.C.\u2019s Mayoral Primary<\/a><\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the results of the close Democratic primary he\u2019s running in may help to answer one of the biggest outstanding questions of the 2026 midterm elections: Just how salient is this issue among voters? Since it\u2019s being asked in a deep-blue Manhattan district, the outcome could end up shaping the Democratic brand for years to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hope is that the lesson that people learn on Tuesday is that standing with Americans \u2026 and advocating for strong regulation, even in spite of all of that money, is the winning electoral strategy,\u201d Bores, who sponsored one of the first AI safety laws in the country, told NOTUS.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are going to care because AI is impacting their lives. And I think what will matter most is the track record of elected officials of actually fighting to pass real regulation and succeeding in doing that,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen someone\u2019s kid becomes obsessed or enamored with an AI chatbot and it affects their mental health, that\u2019s not political, that\u2019s just a problem that needs to be solved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bores \u2014 along with Jack Schlossberg, who is John F. Kennedy\u2019s grandson, and Micah Lasher, also a New York Assembly member \u2014 is a frontrunner in the race to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-New York). Bores\u2019 support for regulating the industry has been a centerpiece of his political ads, social media presence and interviews with the press throughout his campaign.<\/p>\n

If elected to Congress, Bores wants to tax companies\u2019 AI use, advance child-safety measures and establish transparency rules for large AI companies\u2019 safety testing. He said voters are already living with the downsides of AI and will support candidates who can minimize those risks.<\/p>\n

Adam Carlson, a progressive pollster and cofounder of Zenith Research, said a victory from Bores would send a signal to candidates and elected officials across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Bores does win, it\u2019s going to embolden a lot of people to take a stronger regulatory stance against AI. That could be in both parties, but particularly among Democrats,\u201d Carlson said. \u201cAI is the big untapped issue for both parties, because neither party in Congress right now has truly taken head-on the big stakes of AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

While there are other dynamics at play in the race, this is one of the purest tests of voter sentiment on AI this election cycle. AI has come up in other races, but Bores is singular in how aggressively he\u2019s made it his main issue.<\/p>\n

His platform has drawn lavish spending in the 12th Congressional District, both for and against Bores.<\/p>\n

Leading the Future \u2014 a super PAC network backed by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman \u2014 has spent<\/u><\/span> roughly $8 million against Bores since December.<\/p>\n

The group wants to leave the tech industry loose from regulation because it argues that will allow the U.S. to stay competitive, though a top adviser for Leading the Future, Josh Vlasto, told NOTUS in a statement that it supports \u201cpassing a national regulatory framework for AI that creates jobs for American workers, helps America win the race against China, and includes strong guardrails that protect the safety of kids, users, and communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leading the Future was modeled after Fairshake, a super PAC backed by the crypto industry that successfully supported crypto-friendly candidates in 2024. Fairshake helped unseat former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and helped elect Democrats such as Sens. Ruben Gallego (Arizona) and Elissa Slotkin (Michigan) to their current seats.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Public First, another super PAC network whose backers include the AI company Anthropic, supports federal and state regulation of AI and has spent<\/u><\/span> roughly $12 million since Februaryin support of Bores.<\/p>\n

Read more Senate Passes a Housing Bill, Ending Monthslong Standoff With the House<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAI has propelled Alex to the forefront of this race. And it\u2019s made him a national star,\u201d said Brad Carson, the chair of Public First. He argued that even if Bores loses, if it\u2019s by a \u201cvery narrow margin,\u201d that would prove there is political support behind AI regulation.<\/p>\n

Carson advised against \u201creading too much\u201d into Tuesday\u2019s results, since there are other issues besides AI that might influence the election.<\/p>\n

Recent polling has found that public perception of AI is overwhelmingly negative. More than 50% of Americans are \u201cmore concerned than excited\u201d about AI, according to a Pew Research Center poll<\/u><\/span> from last year. April polling<\/u><\/span> by The Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos found that 51% of Americans don\u2019t trust Republicans or Democrats to do a good job of \u201chandling\u201d AI. And only 18% of Gen Z respondents to a Gallup Poll this year said they feel hopeful<\/u><\/span> about the technology.<\/p>\n

Lasher\u2019s campaign declined to comment for this story. Schlossberg\u2019s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Both have deep connections to the 12th District and have support from the Democratic establishment \u2014 Lasher has secured the endorsements ofNadler and Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Schlossberg was endorsed<\/u><\/span> by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.<\/p>\n

Lasher and Schlossberg have also framed Bores as an ally to the AI industry by arguing that Anthropic\u2019s ties to Public First mean he actually has the industry\u2019s backing.<\/p>\n

In a debate<\/u><\/span> this month, Schlossberg criticized Bores for being \u201cin the pocket of big tech,\u201d casting doubt on Bores\u2019 willingness to crack down on the AI industry. In that same debate, Lasher said he could handle AI regulation better than Bores because he is \u201cnot backed by any of the big AI companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

When NOTUS asked Bores about Public First spending, he said, \u201cMy record here is clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year I passed the strongest AI safety law in the country over the objection of Donald Trump\u2019s executive order,\u201d Bores said. \u201cI\u2019ve always been on the side of fighting for families and for our jobs and for our environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are some indicators that widespread opposition to AI has reached new levels. Over the past few months, booing AI during commencement speeches has become a trend. Tens of billions of dollars in data center investments, the underlying infrastructure behind AI, have been blocked<\/u><\/span> across the country at the local level. And progressives leaders such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) have proposed that the U.S. government buy 50% of AI companies so the public can cash in on the industry\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

While some Congress are still trying to navigate the new political lines drawn by AI, others like Sanders say they don\u2019t need election results to know the best path forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I don\u2019t need to look at that or any result,\u201d Sanders told NOTUS. \u201cAll over the country people are expressing their concerns about AI and data centers, and that\u2019s why I\u2019ve introduced the concept of the AI sovereign wealth fund.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Five Arrested as Part of Trump\u2019s Reflecting Pool \u2018Vandalism\u2019 Crackdown<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alex Bores, a Democratic candidate hoping to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, is locked in a tight primary that has become a proxy battle for AI interests.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2026-election"],"yoast_head":"\nThis Democratic Primary Will Test if Voters Care About AI - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=612\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This Democratic Primary Will Test if Voters Care About AI - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Alex Bores, a Democratic candidate hoping to replace retiring Rep. 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