Ryan backs Bores to replace Rep. Nadler, citing the battle over AI’s future

NEW YORK — Rep. Pat Ryan is backing state Assemblymember Alex Bores to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, making him the latest member of the New York delegation to weigh in on one of the state’s most competitive primary elections.

In making his endorsement, obtained exclusively by Blue Light News ahead of its formal announcement, the Hudson Valley Democrat cited the high-profile AI fight that’s become a central theme of the race as a key reason for backing Bores.

“A handful of the richest people in the history of the world are spending millions to defeat him because they’re terrified of a true leader with the courage and the expertise to take them on,” Ryan said in his endorsement, referring to spending against Bores by a pro-artificial intelligence super PAC. “That’s all the proof I need to know I’m on the right side. With courageous leaders like Alex paving the way, we can and we will win this fight.”

Ryan’s rationale for backing Bores underscores just how much the debate over the future of artificial intelligence has dominated the race to represent one of the wealthiest, most highly-educated congressional districts in the country. And Ryan isn’t the only one who based his decision at least in part on Bores’ record on AI.

When the United Federation of Teachers endorsed Bores last week, union president Michael Mulgrew predicted he “won’t back down” as “Big Tech billionaires” try to “silence him.” Our Revolution, a group founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), praised Bores in its endorsement for not being “afraid to name or take on the oligarchy that’s rigging the system against working people.”

The millions of dollars in spending against Bores, an alum-turned-critic of data analytics company Palantir and a sponsor of the AI safety RAISE Act in the state Legislature, has also drawn an influx of money from regulation-friendly AI and tech-affiliated groups to boost him.

In Bores’ first ad of the campaign, which he released Monday morning, he highlights beating “Trump and his megadonors to pass the toughest AI safety law in the nation.”

Bores’ campaign said that both he and Ryan “share a belief that the next Congress must take decisive action to regulate artificial intelligence before this transformative technology outpaces the rules meant to govern it” — a debate that continues to rage on in Washington and globally.

Bores is viewed as one of the top contenders for the 12th District, which covers a large swath of Manhattan. He’s up against Assemblymember Micah Lasher, Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg and anti-Trump commentator George Conway, as well as a handful of lesser-known challengers. Public polling has been sparse in the race, and internal polls from earlier this year don’t show a clear frontrunner.

Ryan is Bores’ first endorsement from a sitting member of the New York delegation; he previously earned the support of former Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Steve Israel.

Many prominent Democrats have rallied around Lasher, who has a long career in New York politics. That includes Nadler — his former boss — as well as retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez. He also has the backing of Gov. Kathy Hochul and former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, both of whom he worked for.

Other members of the New York congressional delegation have not had much of a public presence in the primary. But Schlossberg has the backing of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose support he touted in his first campaign spot.

Ryan, who first won his swing seat in the Hudson Valley in 2022 and has been floated as a contender for higher office, is making an effort to boost his national profile by supporting candidates with public service backgrounds. Bores said in a statement that the Democratic Party will be “lucky” if Ryan is “its new face.”