Heard Around Town
Micah Lasher files to run for Congress
The Assembly member is Rep. Jerry Nadler’s favorite for his seat, and Nadler’s chief of staff is doubling as Lasher’s campaign treasurer.
Micah Lasher, center, speaks at a 2022 benefit. Noam Galai/Getty Images for Riverside Park Conservancy
Assembly Member Micah Lasher, widely seen as the heir apparent to retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, took the first step to run for Congress on Thursday morning when he filed with the Federal Election Commission to create a new campaign committee named “Micah Lasher for Congress.”
Opening the campaign committee will allow Lasher to begin raising funds for what promises to be an expensive and competitive Democratic primary for the 12th Congressional District. Lasher is the second candidate to create a committee (after nonprofit founder Liam Elkind) and the first to do so since Nadler announced his retirement.
Rob Gottheim, Nadler’s chief of staff, will serve as Lasher’s campaign treasurer – the clearest indication yet that Nadler, who is 78 years old, sees Lasher, who is 43, as his anointed successor.
Nadler sent a shockwave through Manhattan politics when he announced on Monday that he will not run for reelection next year to make room for a new generation of politicians. The election to replace Nadler is expected to be crowded. A number of local elected officials have since expressed interest in running for Nadler’s seat – including Lasher, Assembly Member Alex Bores and New York City Council Members Erik Bottcher and Keith Powers.
Some potential candidates have already taken themselves out of the running. Former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, state Sen. Liz Krueger, Council Member Gale Brewer and Chelsea Clinton had all been floated as possible candidates but made clear in recent days that they are not interested. Lindsey Boylan, a former Cuomo aide who ran against Nadler in 2020, also told City & State that she is not running for Nadler’s seat.
But that still leaves a wide field of possible candidates, including actor and former gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, former mayoral candidate Whitney Tilson, former Manhattan District Attorney candidate Tali Farhadian Weinstein, former Rep. Carolyn Maloney and social media influencer Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of former President John F. Kennedy.