A political action committee with ties to major tech and cryptocurrency donors is raising concerns as disgraced former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried takes aim at New York state congressional candidate Alex Bores as the state lawmaker faces a crowded Democratic field.
A sharply worded email distributed by Think Big PAC told voters that the Democratic primary candidate for New York’s 12th Congressional District had received more than $100,000 in support from the former head of the defunct Global Exchange and claimed that “Bankman-Fried’s buddies are funneling money to Bores in Congress.” It also criticized Bores’ campaign finances and positioned him as out of step with voters, urging voters to “do better than Bores.”
The attack comes as Borres is running in a high-profile primary that has attracted several prominent Democratic contenders, including Kennedy family member Jack Schlossberg and other well-connected figures such as George Conway. In deep-blue Manhattan, the race to succeed Rep. Jerry Nadler is expected to be one of the most closely watched primaries of the 2026 cycle.
A spokesman for Think Big PAC told CoinDesk, “For those opposed to deepfake AI, candidate Bores appears to have had no trouble creating his own reality. He made over $100,000 from Sam-Bankman Fried’s filthy political network but refuses to acknowledge the connection.” The company confirmed the amounts through state election filings. “Bores is entitled to his own opinion but not his own set of facts about the SBF’s role in funding his political career.”
Think Big PAC said it supports candidates aligned with pro-tech policies and opposes those seen as hostile to AI innovation. The group has previously deployed spending to influence Ohio’s Democratic primary.
Bores, a first-term congressman representing parts of Manhattan, has recently drawn attention for introducing legislation at the state level focused on artificial intelligence safety and accountability. The bill seeks to impose protections on advanced artificial intelligence systems, and the legislative push could make him a target.
The email pointed the finger at political spending related to Bankman-Fried, who was convicted on fraud charges related to the collapse of FTX. In the 2022 cycle, Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives are among the largest political donors in U.S. politics, supporting candidates across the political spectrum. A CoinDesk analysis found that 196 members of Congress — more than a third — received campaign support from Bankman-Fried or affiliated executives during that period. But Bores is unusual in that he is one of only two state-level candidates in New York to receive help from an SBF-affiliated PAC (the other is Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado).
Think Big PAC has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads targeting Bores, including early TV and digital ads attacking his past work at Palantir. Borres’ campaign fought back against the ads, issuing a cease-and-desist letter accusing the PAC of making “false and defamatory statements” in its ads.
Borres’ campaign has not yet responded to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
Read More: FTX Issues in Congress: One-Third of Members Received Cash from Cryptocurrency Exchange Bosses