{"slug": "a-new-york-primary-winner-has-a-defiant-message-for-openai-and-anthropic", "title": "A New York primary winner has a defiant message for OpenAI and Anthropic", "summary": "Micah Lasher won the Democratic primary for New York's 12th congressional district with 39.1% of the vote, defeating eight candidates. He issued a defiant message to OpenAI and Anthropic, vowing not to take cues from AI companies on protecting kids and jobs. The race became a battleground over AI regulation, with super PACs spending millions to influence the outcome.", "body_md": "The new Democratic nominee for a congressional seat in Manhattan had a strong message for the AI industry on Tuesday night.\n\nAfter defeating a crowded field of eight candidates in New York's 12th congressional district, Micah Lasher, who won by 39.1%, took aim at the tech giants and their allies who spent heavily to shape the outcome of the deep-blue seat.\n\n\"I have some news for the two big AI companies who've taken such an unusual interest in who won this congressional seat,\" Lasher said at a rally at** **Jacob's Pickles, an NYC staple famous for elevating the pickle from a garnish to a main course, following his victory. \"I won't be taking my cues from either of you when it comes to protecting our kids, our jobs.\"\n\nThe swipe at AI companies didn't come out of nowhere. On the trail, Lasher cast himself as a skeptic of Silicon Valley's push for lighter-touch regulation, stating on his website that AI could \"displace workers, exacerbate inequalities, and pose a threat to our environment and public safety.\" He has also raised concerns about the rapid expansion of AI data centers and the industry's growing energy demands.\n\nThe race in Manhattan became an unlikely battleground in the fight over how Washington should regulate AI, illustrating a schism in [Silicon Valley](https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-ai-risks-openai-sam-altman-right-to-warn-2024-6).\n\nMillions of dollars flowed into the contest, much of it aimed at either helping or hurting Assemblymember Alex Bores, a Democrat and former Palantir employee who backed stronger [AI safeguards](https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-ai-training-data-leak-exposed-employee-activity-across-company-2026-6), as competing factions of the tech world backed different candidates and different visions for AI policy.\n\nBores quit Palantir during Donald Trump's first term, citing concerns about the company's work on immigration enforcement.\n\nAccording to Federal Election Commission filings, Think Big, a super PAC opposed to additional AI regulations backed in part by leaders at OpenAI and Andreessen Horowitz, spent about $8 million to prevent Bores from winning. Meanwhile, tech giants backing more AI safety regulations, including the Jobs and Democracy PAC, supported by donors with ties to Anthropic and Adobe, spent more than $13 million to boost Bores' candidacy.\n\nThe clash came as New York emerges as one of the more aggressive states in the country in regulating the AI industry, and as data centers have become a growing [flash point](https://www.businessinsider.com/data-center-bans-moratoriums-opposition-map-2026-6). New York State lawmakers have advanced proposals that would temporarily halt the issuance of permits for large [new data centers](https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-data-center-near-me-location-tracker-2026-6) while officials study their impact on the [electric grid](https://www.businessinsider.com/us-ai-data-center-power-electricity-use-consumption-2026-6), utility bills, water consumption, and climate goals.\n\nLasher is a cosponsor of New York's Responsible AI Safety and Education Act, a proposal aimed at placing safeguards on advanced AI systems, which is the same legislation that made Bores a target for some AI industry groups.\n\nAnthropic, OpenAI, and the Lasher campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/a-new-york-primary-winner-has-a-defiant-message-for-openai-and-anthropic", "canonical_source": "https://www.businessinsider.com/manhattan-primary-winner-lasher-openai-anthropic-2026-6", "published_at": "2026-06-25 00:35:16+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-25 00:52:31.997959+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "ai-safety", "ai-ethics"], "entities": ["Micah Lasher", "OpenAI", "Anthropic", "Alex Bores", "Palantir", "Andreessen Horowitz", "Adobe", "Think Big"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/a-new-york-primary-winner-has-a-defiant-message-for-openai-and-anthropic", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/a-new-york-primary-winner-has-a-defiant-message-for-openai-and-anthropic.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/a-new-york-primary-winner-has-a-defiant-message-for-openai-and-anthropic.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/a-new-york-primary-winner-has-a-defiant-message-for-openai-and-anthropic.jsonld"}}