Jack Schlossberg, the only grandson of the late President John F. Kennedy, is launching a Democratic bid for a New York City congressional seat on Wednesday.
Schlossberg, 32, is entering the Democratic primary to succeed retiring Rep. Jerrold Nadler and represent New York’s 12th Congressional District. The seat represents the Upper East Side, Upper West Side and Midtown sections of Manhattan, an overwhelmingly Democratic area, and one of the nation’s wealthiest and geographically smallest congressional districts.
Schlossberg announced his campaign in a statement that warned “America is in crisis” and castigated President Trump for “using his power to suspend civil rights, silence dissent, and send armed forces into our cities.”
“We can do better,” the statement read. “The Democratic Party must win back the House of Representatives and elect a new generation of leaders.”
Schlossberg is the son of Caroline Kennedy, a former U.S. ambassador to Japan and Australia, and Edwin Schlossberg, an artist and designer who helped design the museums at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, among other projects.
A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, he is perhaps best known in political circles for a social media presence that offers up unapologetic and at times crude criticism of Mr. Trump.
Despite his name recognition, political pedigree and resemblance to his grandfather and late uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., Schlossberg enters what could become a crowded primary.
One candidate already in the race is Democratic Assemblyman Micah Lasher, a former aide to Nadler, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as well as a political ally of New York Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani. Erik Bottcher, a New York City councilman from the district, is among those also reportedly considering a bid.
Other well-known Democrats living in or near the district, including former head of the Federal Trade Commission Lina Khan and Chelsea Clinton, were encouraged to run, but declined to do so.
Schlossberg campaigned on behalf of former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris last year and has frequently featured Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, on his social media accounts in recent months.
He may score early attention and financing for his campaign, but he joins the fray at a time of generational and ideological upheaval in the Democratic Party nationally and in New York.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, is set to take over City Hall next year and the movement that elected him — including New York-area members of the Democratic Socialists of America — is pondering how to further engage in city and state politics. Lasher, 43, is seen as a next-generation star who’s climbed the city’s political ranks through more traditional means.
Nodding to the anticipated fight ahead, Schlossberg’s campaign logo puts an emphasis on the word “New.” And his announcement said his “campaign is for the young at heart, the strong in spirit, and anyone who thinks we deserve better.”
If he wins, Schlossberg would be at least the seventh member of the extended Kennedy family to serve in Congress.
While just 32, Schlossberg is already running behind his late grandfather, who won a Boston congressional seat in 1946 at the age of 29. His grandfather served three terms in the House and was elected twice to the Senate from Massachusetts, before moving to the presidency.
Robert F. Kennedy won a Senate seat from New York in 1964 after serving as JFK’s attorney general, and Edward M. Kennedy also served in the Senate from Massachusetts.
RFK’s oldest son, Joseph Kennedy II, represented Greater Boston in the House for six terms, and his son, Joseph Kennedy III, served four terms in the House. Patrick Kennedy, the youngest child of Edward M. Kennedy, served eight terms as a Rhode Island congressman.
Several other relatives have served in local or statewide politics or in other public offices, among them Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the oldest of RFK’s children, who served as Maryland lieutenant governor from 1995 to 2003. And another of RFK’s children, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is Mr. Trump’s secretary of health and human services.
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