The Democratic primary to succeed long-serving New York Rep. Jerry Nadler in Manhattans 12th Congressional District has morphed into a spectacle of celebrity politics, progressive litmus tests and internecine warfare on the left, even as the eventual nominee is virtually guaranteed a seat in Congress.
According to the Daily Caller, the crowded field features eight Democrats, but the media spotlight has largely fallen on three high-profile figures: Lincoln Project co-founder George Conway, former President John F. Kennedys grandson Jack Schlossberg and ex-Palantir data specialist Alex Bores. Despite their name recognition and media presence, both Conway and Schlossberg appear to be long shots, with polling consistently framing the contest as a tossup between Democratic state Reps. Micah Lasher and Bores, who has built his campaign around artificial intelligence (AI) regulation.
The stakes of the primary are high, not because the district is competitive in November, but because the winner will almost certainly become a new standard-bearer for the Democratic Partys increasingly progressive, anti-Trump wing. The 12th District, anchored in Manhattan, is overwhelmingly Democratic, meaning the real contest is taking place now, in a primary dominated by ideological purity tests on abortion, immigration, transgender procedures and climate policy.
Nadler, 78, set the stage for this political reshuffle when he announced in September 2025 that he would not seek reelection after 34 years in Congress. His departure opened a rare power vacuum in a deep-blue district that has long rewarded hard-left politics and aggressive opposition to President Donald Trump.
Schlossberg entered the race in November 2025, casting the moment in grand, almost existential terms by declaring that America is at a turning point. His candidacy, however, reportedly alarmed his mother, Caroline Kennedy, who feared her sons foray into electoral politics would make him a target for violent haters, the New York Post reported in November 2025.
Before jumping into the race, Schlossberg had already cultivated a media persona that blended political commentary with self-conscious quirkiness. Ahead of the 2024 election, he served as a political correspondent for Vogue, where he described himself as a fun, wacky guy and a silly goose whos trying, just trying, to get the truth out there in a July 2024 interview with the fashion magazine.
The Kennedy heir quickly secured establishment backing from some of the Democratic Partys most powerful figures. Kennedy and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed Schlossberg, giving him the imprimatur of both family legacy and party leadership.
Schlossbergs platform, however, reads like a checklist of progressive orthodoxy that will likely alarm conservatives and moderates alike. His list of campaign priorities includes enshrining abortion protections into federal law, allowing Planned Parenthood to accept Medicaid, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and providing transgender procedures to any person who supposedly needs the procedure, according to his campaign website, Jack for New York.
Beyond policy, Schlossberg has become notorious for his erratic and often bizarre social media presence, which has raised questions about his judgment and seriousness. He drew widespread attention with an X post in which he suggested that second lady Usha Vance is way hotter than his late grandmother, Jackie Kennedy Onassis.
True or false: Usha Vance is way hotter than Jackie O, Schlossberg wrote on Jan. 20, 2025. The remark, flippant and provocative, underscored his tendency to treat politics as a performance space rather than a forum for sober leadership.
His online antics did not stop there, veering into territory that many would consider deeply disrespectful and conspiratorial. Schlossberg also claimed in April 2025 that Vice President J.D. Vance killed Pope Francis and asked Republican Ohio gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy to be his dad.
He has also leaned into a kind of influencer-style exhibitionism, posting shirtless videos of himself to Instagram and TikTok. For voters seeking maturity and gravitas in a member of Congress, these stunts may be difficult to reconcile with the responsibilities of federal office.
If Schlossberg represents the fusion of dynastic politics and social media theatrics, George Conway embodies another familiar phenomenon in modern Washington: the professional anti-Trump activist. Conway, an anti-Trump lawyer and co-founder of the Lincoln Project, has centered his campaign almost entirely on removing Trump from office and defeating Trumpism.
He has not shied away from theatrical gestures to signal his alignment with the activist left. He notably wore a shirt bearing the words I am Antifa at a No Kings rally in October 2025, a slogan that aligns him with a movement associated with street confrontations and radical protest tactics rather than measured constitutional conservatism.
Conway has used his media platforms to wage a relentless rhetorical war on Trump, often in highly emotional terms. He frequently railed against Trump on his podcast, George Conway Explains It All, which is published by The Bulwark, a project that has become a home for disaffected Republicans who have embraced the Democratic Partys anti-Trump agenda.
The anti-Trump lawyer has also become known for his on-camera displays of emotion, which his supporters frame as passion and his critics see as performative. The anti-Trump lawyer has openly cried or held back tears on camera, including when he wept during The Bulwarks The Illegal News with Sarah Longwell while claiming Trump was attacking democracy and the rule of law.
Were all in this together and this is a fight for so much more than profits for partner, this is a fight for democracy, this is a fight for the rule of law. And some people just dont give a shit and that makes me angry, Conway said at the time. His rhetoric mirrors the broader Democratic narrative that frames virtually every policy dispute as a battle for the survival of democracy itself.
Conways flair for the dramatic has extended even into trivial legal episodes, which he has turned into opportunities for political performance. Conway also posted a video of himself singing a song to celebrate the acquittal of a former Justice Department employee who threw a footlong Subway sandwich at a law enforcement agent.
I threw the sandwich, but I did not throw the condiments; I threw the sandwich, but I didnt throw the condiments, Conway sang while playing a guitar with a Republican Voters Against Trump sticker affixed to the instrument. All around Washington D.C., theyre trying to track me down. They say they want to bring me in guilty for the spilling of some mayonnaise, for wasting all the dijon, but I say, I threw the sandwich, but I swear it had bad provolone I threw the sandwich, and they say it is a capicola offense.
To qualify for the race, Conway had to reorient his life geographically and politically. Conway changed his residence from Bethesda, Maryland, to Manhattan and registered as a Democrat so he could run in the race, underscoring how thoroughly he has broken with his former party.
His candidacy is also an extension of his earlier efforts to build an institutional anti-Trump movement within the political class. Conway co-founded the Lincoln Project, a political action committee (PAC) made up of anti-Trump conservatives and former Republicans, and the PAC tried to prevent Trump from winning reelection in 2020 and defeat candidates who supported him.
While Conway and Schlossberg dominate headlines, the races current frontrunner, Micah Lasher, has quietly consolidated establishment Democratic support. The races current frontrunner, Lasher, received endorsements from Nadler, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Democratic New York Gov. David Paterson, according to his campaign website.
Lashers platform reflects the priorities of a party that has moved sharply left on cultural and environmental issues. His platform includes fighting back against Trumpism, allowing children to undergo transgender surgeries and procedures and fighting climate change, positions that place him firmly in the progressive camp and far from traditional conservative values of parental authority, biological reality and energy independence.
Bores, by contrast, has built his brand around technocratic expertise and labor support, though his record in the tech industry has made him a lightning rod. Bores received endorsements from several unions, including the New York Nurses Association, the United Federation of Teachers and the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, according to his campaign website.
During a debate hosted by NY1, Bores found himself under sustained attack from rivals who sought to portray him as a creature of Big Tech. During a debate hosted by NY1, most of the candidates spent their time attacking Bores, a former Palantir employee who has largely campaigned on adding safeguards to AI.
Bores, however, has leaned into his experience, arguing that his background uniquely qualifies him to legislate on one of the most consequential emerging technologies. Bores highlighted his work on AI while at Palantir, arguing that Congress is missing the boat on regulating it.
Lasher seized on Bores tech ties to suggest that he would be beholden to powerful corporate interests rather than ordinary voters. Lasher suggested that Bores would be beholden to the big tech players who supported his campaign.
Alex only wants to tell you half the story, about one AI company thats spending millions to defeat him, and thats bad, Lasher said. But hes not telling you the story about Anthropic, which is spending a million dollars to elect him, or a crypto billionaire who is spending $3.5 million to send him to Congress.
Bores has repeatedly rejected the notion that he is a puppet of Silicon Valley or crypto donors. Bores has repeatedly denied these accusations, pointing out that he authored one of the nations most strictest AI safety laws, the Responsible AI Safety and Education (RAISE) Act.
This race started with AI megadonors pledging $10 million to stop me because they were afraid after I passed the strongest AI safety law in the country, Bores said in a statement, according to WRAL News. Since then, everyone who supports AI regulation and safety from teachers to tech workers, from AI safety advocates to progressive activists has united to take the other side. This isnt one company versus another, this is one ideology versus another: regulate the powerful and protect people, or dont.
Schlossberg, for his part, has tried to turn Bores regulatory agenda against him, arguing that it ultimately serves corporate interests. Schlossberg also argued that Bores proposed AI regulation is a dream come true for tech companies.
Bores responded with a jab that underscored how far left the field has drifted, even as they accuse one another of being insufficiently pure. With friends like these, who needs Republicans? Bores said in response to the attacks.
The debate also exposed tensions over class, privilege and political inheritance, themes that resonate strongly in a district represented for decades by a career politician like Nadler. Lasher accused Schlossberg of being on the debate stage because of nepotism, which Schlossberg pushed back against.
As someone who grew up enormously admiring the legacy of service in your family, Jack, I say this somewhat sheepishly and mournfully, but when we talk about the reasons that each of us are on this stage, Im on this stage because of nearly two decades in public service, Lasher said. I have made my way here myself, Schlossberg replied. Do not ever invoke my family name to try to denigrate who I am.
Schlossberg has argued that his youth and media savvy make him the best candidate to mobilize younger voters in a party increasingly reliant on turnout from the under-35 demographic. Schlossberg argued he is the best candidate to energize younger voters.
Polling, however, suggests that generational appeal is not translating into broad support for either Schlossberg or Conway. Conways support is mainly among voters ages 60 and above, while the support for Lasher and Bores spans across all age groups, according to Emerson College polling.
Conway has tried to reinsert Trump into the center of the race, even though the president is not on the ballot in this primary. Conway called on congressional Democrats to remove Trump from office, doubling down on the impeachment politics that have defined much of his public life.
Surveys indicate that the contest remains fluid but is coalescing around the two state legislators rather than the celebrity candidates. The most recent polling found Lasher and Bores in a tight matchup.
An Emerson College poll from May found Lasher leading with 22% of support, while Bores came in second place at 20%. A Tavern Research survey from mid-May found Bores leading with 20%, and Schlossberg coming in second at 17%.
Hovering over the entire race is Nadlers legacy as one of Trumps most persistent antagonists in Congress, a role that many of the candidates seem eager to inherit and even escalate. Nadler had been a consistent thorn in Trumps side during both of his presidential terms.
As the then-chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Nadler led both impeachment proceedings against Trump and launched sweeping probes into Trumps campaign, businesses and administration. He demanded the full report be released by former FBI Director Robert Mueller on alleged 2016 Russian election interference, which has since been debunked.
For conservatives watching from outside this deep-blue enclave, the primary offers a revealing snapshot of where the Democratic Partys urban base now stands: fixated on Trump, comfortable with radical cultural and immigration policies, and increasingly drawn to candidates who treat politics as a stage for personal branding and ideological crusades. Whoever emerges from this crowded field will almost certainly carry Nadlers seat, but the race has already made one thing clear the Democratic Party in Manhattan is not searching for moderation or balance, but for the loudest and most uncompromising voice to carry its fight against Trumpism and conservative America into the next Congress.
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