Tech-backed spending tops $27 million in Manhattan House primary
The NY-12 Democratic primary is drawing scrutiny after tech interests spent $27.83 million to influence the contest, according to The Verge.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
1 min read
New York’s 12th Congressional District primary is drawing national attention because tech-aligned political money has poured into a local House race. The Verge reported that spending tied to the tech industry has reached $27.83 million as voters choose a nominee for the open Manhattan seat.
The spending figure comes from an election tracker cited by The Verge, elections.transformernews.ai. The Verge described the contest as a test of how much influence corporate AI super PACs and broader tech industry money can exert in a congressional primary.
The race includes Jack Schlossberg, a member of the Kennedy family, and Alex Bores, a progressive New York state assemblyman, according to The Verge. Bores is one of Schlossberg’s rivals for the open NY-12 seat.
The Verge reported that Schlossberg recently posted on X alleging that bots and fake accounts were being used to create artificial grassroots support on behalf of Bores. The Verge characterized the post as an insinuation; the available report did not establish that the alleged activity occurred.
Polls in the primary were set to close Tuesday night, according to The Verge. The result will be watched beyond Manhattan because of the amount of outside tech-related spending attached to the race.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.