Erik Bottcher drops out of House race, will run for state Senate instead

New York City Council Member Erik Bottcher is dropping out of the race for the 12th Congressional District and will instead run for state Senate, he announced on Monday.

“This decision is rooted in where I believe I can do the most good immediately,” he said in a statement. “The State Senate is where critical decisions are being made on housing affordability, addressing the mental health crisis, safeguarding our environment, and defending New York from the Trump agenda. At a moment when MAGA extremists are attacking our freedoms and undermining democracy, strong state leadership matters more than ever.”

Bottcher filed to run for the House seat, which covers the East and West sides of Manhattan, in October, after incumbent Rep. Jerrold Nadler announced that he would not run for reelection next year.

He raised nearly $700,000 within 24 hours of opening a fundraising committee, he said, and received endorsements from national LGBTQ+ organizations like Equality PAC and the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, but he struggled to stand out among the crowded Democratic field, which also includes Assembly Members Micah Lasher and Alex Bores, Kennedy family scion Jack Schlossberg and Gen Z anti-gun violence activist Cameron Kasky.

Lasher is widely seen as Nadler’s heir apparent and has already locked down most endorsements from West Side politicos. Bottcher’s departure removes another west side elected official from the race, which stands to benefit Lasher.

Bottcher is now switching his focus to the state Senate seat currently held by Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who is leaving the state Legislature to become Manhattan borough president. A number of Manhattan elected officials, including Assembly Members Linda Rosenthal and Tony Simone, have also been eyeing Hoylman-Sigal’s seat. Rosenthal had been seen as the front-runner to replace Hoylman-Sigal, but Bottcher’s decision to run for state Senate suggests that she has decided to stay in the Assembly. 

Hoylman-Sigal’s seat will be filled in a special election early in 2026, and Bottcher’s decision means he’s likely to secure the Democratic nomination in that race, which would all but guarantee victory. If Bottcher were to win, that would set up another special election for his City Council seat sometime in the spring.

The race to replace Nadler is likely to remain crowded. On the same day that Bottcher announced he was dropping out, vocal Trump critic George Conway filed to run for the seat.

This is a developing story.