New Yorkers will vote subsequent June in a major election to find out who seems on the November poll to symbolize them in Congress.
The first carries excessive stakes, as longtime representatives Nydia Velázquez and Jerry Nadler retire from prolonged careers in Congress, scary aggressive races for his or her empty seats.
In Brooklyn, Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens, a theme has emerged: Progressive candidates, a lot of them younger, are difficult extra reasonable incumbents, some impressed by Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s win within the metropolis’s mayoral race. And as within the contest that propelled the younger Queens assemblymember to Metropolis Corridor, candidates’ stance on the warfare in Gaza may very well be a defining subject.
With lower than a yr earlier than the final election, some races have already turn into crowded with candidates.
The listing of contenders features a political refugee who was beforehand spied on by the Chinese language secret police, a survivor of a 2018 faculty taking pictures in Parkland, Fla., a scion of the Kennedy political dynasty higher recognized for his absurdist social-media content material than coverage concepts and, probably, the ex-husband of Trumpworld political determine Kellyanne Conway.
Home Representatives are elected each two years and are usually not term-limited. These are the races we’re watching and who’s jumped into the fray to date:
sixth Congressional District: Queens
This Queens district consists of the neighborhoods of Bayside, Elmhurst, Flushing, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Maspeth, Woodside and elements of Jackson Heights and Astoria. The district is majority Asian, with Chinese language folks having the biggest inhabitants adopted by Hispanic residents after which white residents. Grace Meng has represented the district since 2013. That is solely the second time Meng has ever been challenged in a major.
Chuck Park, a Queens native and former U.S. diplomat, is positioning himself as a progressive different to Meng, campaigning on affordability and pledging to not settle for donations from company donors.
Yan Xiong can also be within the combine. He beforehand ran for a congressional seat in District 10 in Brooklyn in 2022 and was a sufferer of stalking and harassment by Chinese language secret police. Xiong got here to the U.S. as a political refugee after being imprisoned for taking part in pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. He’s a Christian pastor and beforehand served within the U.S. Military.
seventh Congressional District: Brooklyn and Queens
Nydia Velázquez introduced she is retiring from her seat representing a district which runs from Astoria, Sunnyside and Ridgewood in Queens into Greenpoint, Williamsburg and Bushwick in Brooklyn, after greater than 30 years of serving in Congress. When she was elected, Velázquez was the primary Puerto Rican lady in Congress. She mentioned she is stepping down at a time when she feels assured within the subsequent era of political leaders. As the highest Democrat on the Home Small Enterprise Committee, she made small enterprise and entrepreneurship a legislative precedence, during which she made vital contributions to.
Up to now, nobody has confirmed a run for the open seat, however a number of officers who symbolize the district — state Sen. Julia Salazar, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and New York Metropolis Council Members Jen Gutiérrez and Sandy Nurse — are seen as potential contenders.
eighth Congressional District: Brooklyn
The eighth Congressional District in Brooklyn encompasses Bedford-Stuyvesant, East New York, Canarsie, East Flatbush, Coney Island, Mill Basin and Brighton Seaside.
The district is at the moment represented by Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries. The Brooklyn native has been in Congress since 2013, and has sponsored laws to reform prison justice and policing and defend the mental property of employees. He additionally served in 2021 as one of many Home Impeachment Managers throughout Trump’s second impeachment trial.
The district is shaping up as the positioning of a battle between institution Democrats and a brand new guard aiming for extra progressive illustration in Congress.
In mid-November, Metropolis Council Member Chi Ossé filed paperwork to problem Jeffries. The 27-year-old Ossé has drawn comparisons to Mayor-elect Mamdani, as a fellow member of the Democratic Socialists of America and expert at social media. Ossé additionally campaigned for Mamdani.
Jeffries, however, is politically extra reasonable than Mamdani and didn’t endorse his mayoral run till a day earlier than the beginning of early voting, as stress mounted from different Dems to get behind the occasion’s choose for mayor. Mamdani received Jeffries’ district within the major and basic mayoral race.
Nevertheless, Mamdani has not backed Ossé’s fledgling run — and has reportedly discouraged him from working, based on The New York Occasions. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has additionally mentioned that now isn’t the fitting time to problem Jeffries, indicating she won’t assist Ossé. In a key vote, DSA members narrowly voted in opposition to Ossé’s marketing campaign and he then informed the Every day Information he has “no intention of working” with out the DSA’s assist.
Whereas within the Metropolis Council, Ossé launched and efficiently handed laws to shift the burden of dealer charges from renters to landlords.
Vance Bostic, who identifies as a fighter relatively than a politician, has additionally entered the race.
ninth Congressional District: Brooklyn
The Central Brooklyn district the place Black residents make up the biggest group has been represented by Yvette Clark since 2013. There may be additionally a large Jewish inhabitants within the district, which may very well be a strong voting bloc for first-time candidate Michael Goldfarb, a grandson of Holocaust survivors.
Goldfarb, a businessman, Harvard graduate and former analyst at Blackstone, says the district may use new management.
Within the first 48 hours after coming into the race, Goldfarb mentioned he raised over $100,000. Based on the Federal Election Fee, Clarke has raised $489,244.
Joshua Bristol has additionally filed to run.
tenth Congressional District: Manhattan and Brooklyn
New York’s tenth Congressional District spans Decrease Manhattan from 14th Avenue to western Brooklyn, together with Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, Park Slope, Sundown Park and Bay Ridge.
The district is at the moment represented by Dan Goldman, an legal professional who beforehand served as lead counsel in Trump’s first impeachment trial. Goldman, a reasonable Democrat, is a robust supporter of Israel and a prime recipient of assist from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group, which has drawn disapproval from progressive voters based on some latest polling.
Nevertheless, Goldman’s private and political connections to Israel haven’t stopped him from talking out on the disaster in Gaza and calling for Israel and the US to “instantly put an finish to this humanitarian disaster.”
The 49-year-old father of 5 has additionally obtained criticism from Democrats over flip-flopping on abortion and accepting cash from Wall Avenue and large actual property. An inheritor to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune, Goldman has additionally been accused by his sharpest critics of “shopping for” his seat by means of a marketing campaign that’s largely funded from private wealth.
Goldman additionally endorsed Sen. Zellnor Myrie within the mayoral major and didn’t make any endorsement within the basic election, one other level of rivalry for youthful and extra left-leaning district voters who got here out strongly for Mamdani.
Two candidates appear prone to place themselves as extra left-leaning choices.
Brad Lander, the outgoing metropolis comptroller and progressive mayoral candidate, mentioned he’s contemplating working for Goldman’s seat after it grew to become clear he was not going to attain a job within the Mamdani administration.
Alexa Avilés, a Metropolis Council member from Sundown Park who can also be backed by DSA, is rumored to be eyeing the workplace as nicely. Within the council, she has fought for protections for immigrants, the atmosphere and tenants.
Evan Hutchison and Savail Majid have each confirmed they’re working for the seat.
Privately, Mayor-elect Mamdani has informed Avilés he would assist Lander within the race if he ran, based on The New York Occasions. Even in hypothetical situations, it’s nonetheless too quickly to inform who District 10 voters may favor, nevertheless, it’s clear that in any state of affairs Goldman is forward within the cash race. Goldman is estimated to have a private web price of greater than $250 million and may possible depend on assist from pro-Israel teams.
Two progressive candidates (one being Hutchison, who’s working once more) challenged Goldman in 2022, however have been unsuccessful, splitting the progressive vote.
twelfth Congressional District: Manhattan
The Manhattan district that features the Higher West Aspect, Higher East Aspect, Morningside Heights, Roosevelt Island, Midtown, Chelsea, and Union Sq., has been represented by Jerrold Nadler, 78, for greater than 30 years. In September, Nadler introduced he won’t be looking for reelection, main 10 Democratic candidates to date to leap on the chance to assert the open seat.
The district is closely Democratic, the wealthiest congressional district in New York State, the third-wealthiest in the whole nation and the best-educated district nationally. The safely blue district is a plum job, and will make for a protracted profession in Congress for the fitting candidate. Right here’s who has joined the race to date:
Alex Bores is at the moment in his second time period representing the East Aspect of Manhattan within the New York State Meeting. Earlier than working for workplace, Bores was a software program engineer, and claims to be the one Democrat elected at any degree of New York’s authorities to have a diploma in pc science. On social media, Bores leans into his tech experience, writing that he’s working to “recode Washington” and “reimagine how authorities works within the digital age.”
The 32-year-old has handed payments encouraging state businesses to make use of cloud computing know-how and one making certain that workers’ innovations stay their very own mental property.
Erik Bottcher has represented Chelsea and the West Village within the Metropolis Council since 2021. A homosexual man and LGBTQ rights advocate, Bottcher has typically talked about his struggles with psychological well being as a closeted teenager in upstate New York. Within the Metropolis Council, he has handed laws to increase psychological well being companies in homeless shelters. In the course of the mayoral marketing campaign, Bottcher supported Mamdani, however has mentioned he disagrees with the mayor-elect’s views on Israel and helps its proper to exist as a Jewish state. His different priorities within the Council have been sanitation, inexpensive housing and environmental sustainability.
Laura Dunn, a civil and sufferer rights legal professional who’s dedicated to ending sexual violence and making certain gender equality, is making her first run for public workplace.
Liam Elkind was the primary candidate to declare his run for the District 12 seat, asserting his problem earlier than Nadler mentioned he was retiring. The 26-year-old co-founded the nonprofit Invisible Palms in the course of the pandemic to ship necessities to New York’s seniors.
Elkind is campaigning on affordability, lowering medical debt and the price of elder care, investing in public transit and constructing extra housing. Regardless of his priorities sounding just like Mamdani’s, Elkind mentioned he ranked the mayor-elect fifth on his major poll, citing a schism on freezing rents, government-owned grocery shops and issues for the Jewish group. He has pledged to not settle for company PAC cash and helps banning inventory buying and selling by members of Congress.
Jami Floyd, a former journalist, lawyer, and fellow within the Clinton administration, is a reasonable Democrat working to get the occasion “again to the fundamentals,” based on her marketing campaign web site. Floyd — who beforehand hosted the favored radio present “All Issues Thought-about” and identifies as a “truthteller” — resigned from WNYC after accusations of plagiarism in 45 articles. Floyd sued the general public radio station, alleging racial discrimination and retaliatory harassment. The events settled, and the small print haven’t been publicly disclosed.
Floyd is working to increase inexpensive housing, public security and prioritizing folks’s wants in authorities.
Cameron Kasky is a survivor of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas Excessive College taking pictures in Parkland, Fla. and is an activist in opposition to gun violence. The 25-year-old has 75,000 followers on Instagram and based the March for Our Lives motion. Initially from Florida, Kasky attended Columbia College, however left earlier than finishing his research to pursue full-time activism. On his marketing campaign web site, he’s written that the violence in Gaza motivated him to run and advocate in opposition to violence all over the place.
Micah Lasher: Whereas Nadler has not made an official endorsement within the race, Micah Lasher is considered as Nadler’s favourite for his seat. Lasher brings a protracted political resume to a race with many youthful and first-time candidates. Lasher, a first-term assemblymember, is a one-time Nadler aide who has labored carefully with him for 20 years. Nadler’s chief of workers, Rob Gottheim, will work on Lasher’s marketing campaign as treasurer.
Lasher has been endorsed by Comptroller-elect Mark Levine, state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Metropolis Councilmember Gale Brewer and former metropolis Comptroller Scott Stringer. He has labored within the Bloomberg administration and with Gov. Kathy Hochul as a coverage director. He endorsed Mamdani within the mayoral election, however not with out emphasizing his differing beliefs over Israel.
Alan Pardee has labored in finance for greater than 30 years and is on the board of New York Frequent Pantry. He’s promised to proceed tackling meals insecurity, together with constructing extra inexpensive housing and reducing taxes for the center class.
Jack Schlossberg is the son of Caroline Kennedy and the grandson of former President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The 32-year-old has made a reputation for himself (outdoors of being a Kennedy inheritor) for his “foolish goose” social media presence the place he dances, lip syncs and acts out absurdist characters. He has publicly criticized his cousin, RFK Jr., and briefly labored as a political correspondent for Vogue in the course of the leadup to the 2024 presidential election. He’s a graduate of Harvard Regulation College.
On his marketing campaign web site, he has made 12 guarantees to the twelfth district, framed extra as values than coverage: Service, braveness, energy, accountability, optimism, independence, focus, pragmatism, unity, patriotism, creativity and positivity.
Mathew Shurka is the most recent individual to affix the race. On his web site, Shurka says he was compelled to get entangled in politics after 5 years of conversion remedy, one thing he’s pushed to ban by working with members of Congress and co-founding Born Good, a company dedicated to advancing LGBTQ rights.
George Conway has not formally introduced he’s working however studies reveal he’s near becoming a member of the fray. Conway is a former Republican who was outspoken in opposition to President Trump in his first time period and was beforehand married to Kellyanne Conway, a one-time prime aide to the president. George Conway informed The New York Occasions that the latest authorities shutdown motivated him to contemplate a run and that he needs Senate Democrats hadn’t caved to Republicans calls for.
Lasher is first within the cash race with $702,310, carefully adopted by Pardee, $658,198, after which Elkind, $550,854. The opposite six candidates haven’t reported any marketing campaign funds but, based on federal data that have been final up to date on the finish of September.
thirteenth Congressional District: Manhattan and The Bronx
District 13 represents elements of the Higher West Aspect, Morningside Heights, Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood in Manhattan, and elements of Fordham, Morris Heights, College Heights, Norwood, Bedford Park and Jerome Park.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat has represented the district within the Home since 2017. As the primary Dominican-American and previously undocumented individual to be elected to Congress, Espaillat has fought for protections for immigrants, efforts to abate gun violence, and lately referred to as for the Trump administration to unfreeze funding for the Second Avenue Subway.
Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Florida native who now lives in Harlem, is vying for Espaillat’s seat, charging that he’s beholden to company and lobbyist funding and overly sympathetic to Israel. Avila Chevalier is backed by the progressive group Justice Democrats, the identical PAC that helped jumpstart Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional marketing campaign in 2018.
Avila Chevalier is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology on the CUNY Graduate Middle and a group organizer who has labored to get New Yorkers out of ICE detention. She canvassed for Mamdani and informed The New York Occasions she was partly impressed to run primarily based on his mayoral marketing campaign.
fifteenth Congressional District: The Bronx
District 15 covers elements of The Bronx, together with Mott Haven, Allerton, Morrisania, Fordham, Melrose and Riverdale, in addition to the areas round Yankee Stadium and the Bronx Zoo.
Ritchie Torres has represented the district within the Home since 2021. He was the youngest elected official in New York Metropolis historical past, in addition to the primary overtly LGBTQ individual elected in The Bronx when he ran for the Metropolis Council on the age of 25. Born to Puerto Rican dad and mom and raised in public housing within the Bronx, Torres championed funding and fixing failures in NYCHA throughout his stint within the Metropolis Council. In Congress, Torres has advocated for public housing, helped launch the Congressional Crypto Caucus and pushed for laws that will allocate federal funds for bodegas to purchase safety gear.
Torres has been a staunch defender of Israel, main some extra progressive candidates to eye his seat.
Michael Blake, a Bronx native and ordained minister, labored for Barack Obama whereas he was a senator and later within the White Home. Blake represented The Bronx for one time period within the State Meeting, and has run failed campaigns for public advocate, Congress and most lately for mayor. His newest loss was within the major, the place he completed eighth amongst a dozen candidates within the June major. He’s working on supporting the lease freeze, repairing NYCHA housing, decreasing grocery and power payments, making The Bronx safer and supporting native companies. Blake has been endorsed by former Mayor Invoice de Blasio.
He’s confronted points up to now in regards to the legitimacy of his residency within the Bronx and associated tax troubles.
Dalourny Nemorin is a public defender, a member of Bronx Neighborhood Board 1 and DSA. She desires to enhance entry to medical care, prioritize environmental justice and create extra inexpensive leases and homeownership alternatives.
South Bronx native Jose Vega (27) has additionally thrown his hat within the race, working to assist Medicare for all, immigration reform, ending the two-party political system and bringing industrialization again to The Bronx.
Torres has raised almost $4 million for his 2026 marketing campaign. Vega has reported $101,386 in marketing campaign funding and Nemorin has not reported any but.
Jon LaTona has additionally filed to run.
Further reporting by Marina Samuel.
Associated
