Jerry Nadler has represented New York’s 12th District, which encompasses Midtown Manhattan, the Upper East Side and Upper West Side for 17 terms. In the wake of Congressman Nadler’s retirement announcement in October, campaign declarations ramped up.
One such contender is John “Jack” Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg, the only grandson of President John F. Kennedy.
Who is Jack Schlossberg?
Schlossberg holds a Juris Doctor and Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard, the undergraduate alma mater of his mother and grandfather. His professional career includes journalistic ventures for publications including CNN. Schlossberg was also a political correspondent for Vogue in 2024, for which he published articles about the forthcoming election and appeared as a podcast guest on “The Run Through.”
However, Schlossberg is perhaps best known for his social media presence. He amassed over 1 million followers across social media platforms through his sardonic online presence. His September announcement of interest in the congressional seat echoes his humor: “Hey guys ? have formed an exploratory committee.”
On Nov. 11, Schlossberg announced, to his over 700,000 Instagram followers, that he had launched a campaign for Congress – alongside a photoshoot of him riding his bicycle through the streets of New York.
In addition to posting memes, Schlossberg also posts about politics and often trolls American politicians. Among his targets is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who he describes as “dangerous” and an “embarrassment” to the Kennedy family. Schlossberg claims President Donald Trump “put a collar on my cousin, RFK, and has him there, barking.”
Schlossberg joins nine other Democratic candidates in the race for New York’s 12th district: Alex Bores, Erik Bottcher, Laura Dunn, Liam Elkind, Jami Floyd, Cameron Kasky, Micah Lasher, Alan Pardee and Matthew Shurka. The sole Republican candidate, Kaley Marie Aldrich, filed her candidacy statement Nov. 10.
In response to the news of Schlossberg’s candidacy, Congressman Nadler told the New York Times Schlossberg does not have a “record of public service” and he will not be a major contender
Jerry Nadler’s hopes for the future
78-year-old Jerry Nadler has represented the 12th District of New York for over 30 years and hopes his retirement will result in a younger generation taking power.
“Watching the Biden thing really said something about the necessity for generational change in the party, and I think I want to respect that,” the congressman told the New York Times in an interview.
Given the candidate pool, generational change may well be on its way to New York’s 12th. Over half of all declared candidates are Millennials or younger. Elkind and Kasky, both in their 20s, are the youngest and sole Gen Z contenders.
Despite their aggregate youth, N.Y.-12 boasts many candidates with robust public service records, including two assembly members and a counsel member. One candidate, Assemblymember Micah Lasher, was a congressional aide to Jerry Nadler.
What to know about the field
Lasher’s credentials include such positions as director of State Legislative Affairs for the City of New York prior to his 2024 election to represent District 69 in the State Assembly.
Assemblymember Alex Bores represents the 63rd District of New York. Bores holds a degree in Computer Science and, prior to joining the Assembly, engineered software that was used by the local government in their administration of Covid relief programs.
Counselmember Erik Bottcher has represented City Counsel District 3 since 2021. His work includes acting as the government office’s LGBTQ Community Liaison and serving as Chief of Staff to former Councilmember Corey Johnson.
Jack Schlossberg is not the only lawyer in the race. Candidate Laura Dunn specializes in civil litigation and advocacy on behalf of victims of sexual assault. In 2017, Dunn received the U.S. Department of Justice Special Courage Award at the National Crime Victim’s Service Awards for her advocacy.
Jami Floyd, formerly a trial attorney, held a 30-year career in journalism before declaring her candidacy. She describes herself as a “moderate” and has published an article on her campaign website to distinguish herself from Zohran Mamdani after his election.
Both Gen Z candidates, Kasky and Elkind, have experience in non-profit and organizing for social justice causes.
Cameron Kasky is a survivor of the 2018 Parkland high school shooting in Florida. He went on to co-found Never Again MSD, which evolved into #NeverAgain, an online movement to raise awareness about school shootings and advance gun control. At age 18, Kasky helped to found and lead the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C.
In 2020, Liam Elkind co-founded the food delivery non-profit Invisible Hands. Elkind then began serving on the Board of CommonPoint Queens after CommonPoint acquired Invisible Hands.
While not Gen Z, Millennial Matthew Shurka also brings youth and non-profit experience to the table, too. After co-founding Born Perfect, a campaign to end conversion therapy, Shurka has become the Chief Strategy Officer at the National Center for Lesbian Rights and a NextGen board member with UNICEF. Shurka is the newest candidate, having declared his campaign Nov. 19.
Also involved in New York’s non-profit scene is candidate Alan Pardee. Formerly managing director at Merrill Lynch, Pardee holds a membership on the board of New York Common Pantry, a nonprofit organization that provides pantry, meals and case management services to food insecure New Yorkers. Pardee’s career in finance also distinguishes him from other candidates who have worked in government and legal careers.
The race for NY-12 is on
New York’s 12th congressional district is one of the wealthiest in America and, according to the Cook Partisan Voting Index, one of the most heavily Democrat. As such, it is unlikely to elect a Republican. At the time of publication, no candidate website or further information is available for the only Republican candidate Kaley Aldrich.
With 11 candidates already declared and just over four months still remaining until the April 2, 2026, candidacy filing deadline, New York’s 12th is one to watch. Whatever the outlook for Schlossberg, it is likely to be a competitive race.
Edited by Abbigail Earl & James Sutton
