Who's Running In The 2026 Congressional Primaries In NYC

By Lauren Hartley, The City

Nov. 25, 2025, 5:00 a.m.

New Yorkers will vote next June in a primary election to determine who appears on the November ballot to represent them in Congress.

The primary carries high stakes, as longtime representatives Nydia Velázquez and Jerry Nadler retire from lengthy careers in Congress, provoking competitive races for their empty seats.

In Brooklyn, Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens, a theme has emerged: Progressive candidates, many of them young, are challenging more moderate incumbents, some inspired by Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s win in the city’s mayoral race. And as in the contest that propelled the young Queens assemblymember to City Hall, candidates’ stance on the war in Gaza could be a defining issue.

With less than a year before the general election, some races have already become crowded with candidates.

The list of contenders includes a political refugee who was previously spied on by the Chinese secret police, a survivor of a 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., a scion of the Kennedy political dynasty better known for his absurdist social-media content than policy ideas and, possibly, the ex-husband of Trumpworld political figure Kellyanne Conway.

House Representatives are elected every two years and are not term-limited. These are the races we’re watching and who’s jumped into the fray so far:

6th Congressional District: Queens

This Queens district includes the neighborhoods of Bayside, Elmhurst, Flushing, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Maspeth, Woodside and parts of Jackson Heights and Astoria. The district is majority Asian, with Chinese people having the largest population followed by Hispanic residents and then white residents. Grace Meng has represented the district since 2013. This is only the second time Meng has ever been challenged in a primary.

Chuck Park, a Queens native and former U.S. diplomat, is positioning himself as a progressive alternative to Meng, campaigning on affordability and pledging not to accept donations from corporate donors.

Yan Xiong is also in the mix. He previously ran for a congressional seat in District 10 in Brooklyn in 2022 and was a victim of stalking and harassment by Chinese secret police. Xiong came to the U.S. as a political refugee after being imprisoned for participating in pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. He is a Christian pastor and previously served in the U.S. Army.

7th Congressional District: Brooklyn and Queens

Nydia Velázquez announced she is retiring from her seat representing a district that runs from Astoria, Sunnyside and Ridgewood in Queens into Greenpoint, Williamsburg and Bushwick in Brooklyn, after more than 30 years of serving in Congress. When she was elected, Velázquez was the first Puerto Rican woman in Congress. She said she is stepping down at a time when she feels confident in the next generation of political leaders. As the top Democrat on the House Small Business Committee, she made small business and entrepreneurship a legislative priority, in which she made significant contributions to.

So far, no one has confirmed a run for the open seat, but several officials who represent the district — state Sen. Julia Salazar, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and New York City Council Members Jen Gutiérrez and Sandy Nurse — are seen as potential contenders.

Congressional Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-Brooklyn) speaks at a Working Families Party mayoral slate rally in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, June 22, 2025. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

8th Congressional District: Brooklyn

The 8th Congressional District in Brooklyn encompasses Bedford-Stuyvesant, East New York, Canarsie, East Flatbush, Coney Island, Mill Basin and Brighton Beach.

The district is currently represented by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The Brooklyn native has been in Congress since 2013, and has sponsored legislation to reform criminal justice and policing and protect the intellectual property of workers. He also served in 2021 as one of the House Impeachment Managers during Trump’s second impeachment trial.

The district is shaping up as the site of a fight between establishment Democrats and a new guard aiming for more progressive representation in Congress.

In mid-November, City Council Member Chi Ossé filed paperwork to challenge Jeffries. The 27-year-old Ossé has drawn comparisons to Mayor-elect Mamdani, as a fellow member of the Democratic Socialists of America and skilled at social media. Ossé also campaigned for Mamdani.

Jeffries, on the other hand, is politically more moderate than Mamdani and did not endorse his mayoral run until a day before the start of early voting, as pressure mounted from other Dems to get behind the party’s pick for mayor. Mamdani won Jeffries’ district in the primary and general mayoral race.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) speaks in Fort Greene about responding to President Donald Trump’s agenda, Feb. 3, 2025. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

However, Mamdani has not backed Ossé’s fledgling run — and has reportedly discouraged him from running, according to The New York Times. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has also said that now is not the right time to challenge Jeffries, indicating she will not support Ossé. In a key vote, DSA members narrowly voted against Ossé’s campaign and he then told the Daily News he has “no intention of running” without the DSA’s support.

While in the City Council, Ossé introduced and successfully passed legislation to shift the burden of broker fees from renters to landlords.

Vance Bostic, who identifies as a fighter rather than a politician, has also entered the race.

9th Congressional District: Brooklyn

The Central Brooklyn district where Black residents make up the largest group has been represented by Yvette Clark since 2013. There is also a sizable Jewish population in the district, which could be a powerful 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 could use new leadership.

In the first 48 hours after entering the race, Goldfarb said he raised over $100,000. According to the Federal Election Commission, Clarke has raised $489,244.

Joshua Bristol has also filed to run.

10th Congressional District: Manhattan and Brooklyn

New York’s 10th Congressional District spans Lower Manhattan from 14th Street to western Brooklyn, including Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, Park Slope, Sunset Park and Bay Ridge.

The district is currently represented by Dan Goldman, an attorney who previously served as lead counsel in Trump’s first impeachment trial. Goldman, a moderate Democrat, is a strong supporter of Israel and a top recipient of support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group, which has drawn disapproval from progressive voters according to some recent polling.

However, Goldman’s personal and political connections to Israel have not stopped him from speaking out on the crisis in Gaza and calling for Israel and the United States to “immediately put an end to this humanitarian catastrophe.”

The 49-year-old father of five has also received criticism from Democrats over flip-flopping on abortion and accepting money from Wall Street and big real estate. An heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune, Goldman has also been accused by his sharpest critics of “buying” his seat through a campaign that is mostly funded from personal wealth.

Goldman also endorsed Sen. Zellnor Myrie in the mayoral primary and did not make any endorsement in the general election, another point of contention for younger and more left-leaning district voters who came out strongly for Mamdani.

Two candidates seem likely to position themselves as more left-leaning options.

Brad Lander, the outgoing city comptroller and progressive mayoral candidate, said he is considering running for Goldman’s seat after it became clear he was not going to score a job in the Mamdani administration.

Alexa Avilés, a City Council member from Sunset Park who is also backed by DSA, is rumored to be eyeing the office as well. In the council, she has fought for protections for immigrants, the environment and tenants.

Evan Hutchison and Savail Majid have both confirmed they’re running for the seat.

Privately, Mayor-elect Mamdani has told Avilés he would support Lander in the race if he ran, according to The New York Times. Even in hypothetical scenarios, it’s still too soon to tell who District 10 voters might favor, however, it’s clear that in any scenario Goldman is ahead in the money race. Goldman is estimated to have a personal net worth of more than $250 million and can likely count on support from pro-Israel groups.

Two progressive candidates (one being Hutchison, who’s running again) challenged Goldman in 2022, but were unsuccessful, splitting the progressive vote.

12th Congressional District: Manhattan

The Manhattan district that includes the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Morningside Heights, Roosevelt Island, Midtown, Chelsea, and Union Square, has been represented by Jerrold Nadler, 78, for more than 30 years. In September, Nadler announced he will not be seeking reelection, leading 10 Democratic candidates so far to jump on the opportunity to claim the open seat.
The district is heavily Democratic, the wealthiest congressional district in New York State, the third-wealthiest in the entire country and the best-educated district nationally. The safely blue district is a plum job, and could make for a long career in Congress for the right candidate. Here’s who has joined the race so far:

Alex Bores is currently in his second term representing the East Side of Manhattan in the New York State Assembly. Before running for office, Bores was a software engineer, and claims to be the only Democrat elected at any level of New York’s government to have a degree in computer science. On social media, Bores leans into his tech expertise, writing that he’s running to “recode Washington” and “reimagine how government works in the digital age.”

The 32-year-old has passed bills encouraging state agencies to use cloud computing technology and one ensuring that employees’ inventions remain their own intellectual property.

Erik Bottcher has represented Chelsea and the West Village in the City Council since 2021. A gay man and LGBTQ rights advocate, Bottcher has often talked about his struggles with mental health as a closeted teenager in upstate New York. In the City Council, he has passed legislation to expand mental health services in homeless shelters. During the mayoral campaign, Bottcher supported Mamdani, but has said he disagrees with the mayor-elect’s views on Israel and supports its right to exist as a Jewish state. His other priorities in the Council have been sanitation, affordable housing and environmental sustainability.

Laura Dunn, a civil and victim rights attorney who is committed to ending sexual violence and ensuring gender equality, is making her first run for public office.

Liam Elkind was the first candidate to declare his run for the District 12 seat, announcing his challenge before Nadler said he was retiring. The 26-year-old co-founded the nonprofit Invisible Hands during the pandemic to deliver essentials to New York’s seniors.

Elkind is campaigning on affordability, reducing medical debt and the cost of elder care, investing in public transit and building more housing. Despite his priorities sounding similar to Mamdani’s, Elkind said he ranked the mayor-elect fifth on his primary ballot, citing a schism on freezing rents, government-owned grocery stores and concerns for the Jewish community. He has pledged not to accept corporate PAC money and supports banning stock trading by members of Congress.

Jami Floyd, a former journalist, lawyer, and fellow in the Clinton administration, is a moderate Democrat running to get the party “back to the basics,” according to her campaign website. Floyd — who previously hosted the popular radio show “All Things Considered” and identifies as a “truthteller” — resigned from WNYC after accusations of plagiarism in 45 articles. Floyd sued the public radio station, alleging racial discrimination and retaliatory harassment. The parties settled, and the details have not been publicly disclosed.

Floyd is running to expand affordable housing, public safety and prioritizing people’s needs in government.

Cameron Kasky is a survivor of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla. and is an activist against gun violence. The 25-year-old has 75,000 followers on Instagram and founded the March for Our Lives movement. Originally from Florida, Kasky attended Columbia University, but left before completing his studies to pursue full-time activism. On his campaign website, he’s written that the violence in Gaza motivated him to run and advocate against violence everywhere.

Micah Lasher: While Nadler has not made an official endorsement in the race, Micah Lasher is viewed as Nadler’s favorite for his seat. Lasher brings a long political resume to a race with many younger and first-time candidates. Lasher, a first-term assemblymember, is a one-time Nadler aide who has worked closely with him for two decades. Nadler’s chief of staff, Rob Gottheim, will work on Lasher’s campaign as treasurer.

Lasher has been endorsed by Comptroller-elect Mark Levine, state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, City Councilmember Gale Brewer and former city Comptroller Scott Stringer. He has worked in the Bloomberg administration and with Gov. Kathy Hochul as a policy director. He endorsed Mamdani in the mayoral election, but not without emphasizing his differing beliefs over Israel.

Alan Pardee has worked in finance for more than 30 years and is on the board of New York Common Pantry. He’s promised to continue tackling food insecurity, along with building more affordable housing and cutting taxes for the middle 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 name for himself (outside of being a Kennedy heir) for his “silly goose” social media presence where he dances, lip syncs and acts out absurdist characters. He has publicly criticized his cousin, RFK Jr., and briefly worked as a political correspondent for Vogue during the leadup to the 2024 presidential election. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

On his campaign website, he has made 12 promises to the 12th district, framed more as values than policy: Service, courage, strength, accountability, optimism, independence, focus, pragmatism, unity, patriotism, creativity and positivity.

Mathew Shurka is the latest person to join the race. On his website, Shurka says he was compelled to get involved in politics after five years of conversion therapy, something he’s pushed to ban by working with members of Congress and co-founding Born Perfect, an organization committed to advancing LGBTQ rights.

George Conway has not officially announced he’s running but reports reveal he is close to joining the fray. Conway is a former Republican who was outspoken against President Trump in his first term and was previously married to Kellyanne Conway, a one-time top aide to the president. George Conway told The New York Times that the recent government shutdown motivated him to consider a run and that he wishes Senate Democrats hadn’t caved to Republicans' demands.

Lasher is first in the money race with $702,310, closely followed by Pardee, $658,198, and then Elkind, $550,854. The other six candidates have not reported any campaign funds yet, according to federal records that were last updated at the end of September.

13th Congressional District: Manhattan and The Bronx

District 13 represents parts of the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights, Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood in Manhattan, and parts of Fordham, Morris Heights, University Heights, Norwood, Bedford Park and Jerome Park.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat has represented the district in the House since 2017. As the first Dominican-American and formerly undocumented person to be elected to Congress, Espaillat has fought for protections for immigrants, efforts to abate gun violence, and recently called for the Trump administration to unfreeze funding for the Second Avenue Subway.

Congressional Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) leads a press conference at the Second Avenue Subway information center against the Trump administration treating to cut funds for the project, Oct. 2, 2025. Credit: Alex Krales/THE CITY

Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Florida native who now lives in Harlem, is vying for Espaillat’s seat, charging that he is beholden to corporate and lobbyist funding and overly sympathetic to Israel. Avila Chevalier is backed by the progressive group Justice Democrats, the same PAC that helped jumpstart Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional campaign in 2018.

Avila Chevalier is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center and a community organizer who has worked to get New Yorkers out of ICE detention. She canvassed for Mamdani and told The New York Times she was partly inspired to run based on his mayoral campaign.

15th Congressional District: The Bronx

District 15 covers parts of The Bronx, including Mott Haven, Allerton, Morrisania, Fordham, Melrose and Riverdale, as well as the areas around Yankee Stadium and the Bronx Zoo.

Ritchie Torres has represented the district in the House since 2021. He was the youngest elected official in New York City history, as well as the first openly LGBTQ person elected in The Bronx when he ran for the City Council at the age of 25. Born to Puerto Rican parents and raised in public housing in the Bronx, Torres championed funding and fixing failures in NYCHA during his stint in the City Council. In Congress, Torres has advocated for public housing, helped launch the Congressional Crypto Caucus and pushed for legislation that would allocate federal funds for bodegas to buy security equipment.

Torres has been a staunch defender of Israel, leading some more progressive candidates to eye his seat.

Michael Blake, a Bronx native and ordained minister, worked for Barack Obama while he was a senator and later in the White House. Blake represented The Bronx for one term in the State Assembly, and has run failed campaigns for public advocate, Congress and most recently for mayor. His latest loss was in the primary, where he finished eighth among a dozen candidates in the June primary. He’s running on supporting the rent freeze, repairing NYCHA housing, lowering grocery and energy bills, making The Bronx safer and supporting local businesses. Blake has been endorsed by former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

He’s faced issues in the past about the legitimacy of his residency in the Bronx and related tax troubles.

Dalourny Nemorin is a public defender, a member of Bronx Community Board 1 and DSA. She wants to improve access to medical care, prioritize environmental justice and create more affordable rentals and homeownership opportunities.

South Bronx native Jose Vega (27) has also thrown his hat in the race, running to support Medicare for all, immigration reform, ending the two-party political system and bringing industrialization back to The Bronx.

Torres has raised nearly $4 million for his 2026 campaign. Vega has reported $101,386 in campaign funding and Nemorin has not reported any yet.

Jon LaTona has also filed to run.

This press release was produced by The City. The views expressed here are the author’s own.