Overview
- Schlossberg formally announced his bid Tuesday via email and a campaign video, casting the race as a response to a national “turning point” focused on affordability, corruption, and constitutional norms.
- He told The New York Times that Democrats must retake the House to counter President Donald Trump’s abuses of power and to address cost-of-living pressures.
- The open 12th District covers Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Upper East Side, and midtown, and is widely described as the smallest U.S. House district by area and the most Democratic-leaning in New York.
- Outgoing Rep. Jerry Nadler questioned Schlossberg’s qualifications, saying the seat should go to someone with a record of public service and asserting that Schlossberg lacks one.
- The field includes state Assembly members Micah Lasher and Alex Bores and nonprofit founder Liam Elkind, as Schlossberg enters with significant social-media reach and a public break with cousin and Trump health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.