Upper West Side elected officials back Micah Lasher’s congressional run

Assembly Member Micah Lasher received the first endorsements in his bid to succeed Rep. Jerry Nadler on Monday. Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, New York City Council Members Gale Brewer and Shaun Abreu, former city Comptroller Scott Stringer and former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger all endorsed Lasher, who is widely viewed as Nadler’s heir apparent.

Nadler currently represents the 12th Congressional District, which encompasses both the Upper East Side and Upper West Side of Manhattan. The five current and former elected officials backing Lasher are all influential within West Side politics and closely aligned with Nadler, who has not yet endorsed a successor.

“Filling Jerry Nadler’s shoes on the West Side and in the halls of our nation’s Capitol is no easy feat,” Rosenthal said in a statement. “However, no one is more capable of taking on that formidable challenge than my colleague and friend, Assemblymember Micah Lasher.”

The endorsements are further evidence that Lasher is likely to inherit Nadler’s base of support on the vote-rich Upper West Side, which has traditionally dominated Manhattan politics. Brewer, Stringer and Messinger each previously served as Manhattan borough president, while Abreu is a close ally of current Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine.

“I am so proud to have the support of these outstanding public servants, with whom I have had the privilege of working side-by-side,” Lasher said in a statement. “These leaders represent the long tradition of West Side political activism and progressive leadership, and I look forward to being in the trenches with them for many years to come as a member of Congress.”

While Lasher is likely the front-runner to replace Nadler, the primary race is expected to be crowded.

Assembly Member Alex Bores, who represents the wealthy Upper East Side, has said that he is exploring a run for the congressional seat. New York City Council Member Erik Bottcher, who represents Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen, is also considering a run with a campaign focused on support from the LGBTQ+ community. The president of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund recently penned op-eds in both The Advocate and Gay City News encouraging Bottcher to run.

There are also a number of less traditional candidates eyeing the seat. Liam Elkind, a nonprofit CEO backed by centrist political megadonor Reid Hoffman, launched his campaign in July, a little over a month before Nadler dropped out. Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, reportedly formed an exploratory committee to run for the seat. Cameron Kasky, a progressive activist and school shooting survivor, has also hinted on social media about a possible run.