Glick endorses Lasher for NY-12

Outgoing Assembly Member Deborah Glick is endorsing her colleague Micah Lasher to succeed Rep. Jerrold Nadler in the 12th Congressional District, Lasher’s campaign announced on Monday.

“Micah Lasher is exactly the kind of leader the Democratic Party needs in Washington right now – someone with the energy and resourcefulness to battle Trump and the Republicans and a legislator who’s taken on tough fights and gotten results,” Glick said in a statement. “I’ve known Micah for years and seen his commitment to issues that have been important to me throughout my career – from protecting the environment, to ensuring access to abortion, to securing the civil rights of LGBTQ New Yorkers, to combatting antisemitism.”

Glick represents parts of Manhattan’s West Side, including Greenwich Village, SoHo and Tribeca – and a very small portion of her district overlaps with the congressional district that Lasher hopes to represent.

But the endorsement from Glick, who has spent 35 years in the Assembly and announced earlier this year that she will not run for reelection in 2026, is significant for another reason. Glick was the first out gay member of the state Legislature, and she is the second prominent gay Manhattan politician to back Lasher – following state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who in January will become the first out gay man to serve as Manhattan borough president.

For Lasher, endorsements from Glick and Hoylman-Sigal could counter the appeal of New York City Council Member Erik Bottcher, who is also running for Nadler’s congressional seat. Bottcher, who is gay, has received the support of prominent national LGBTQ+ groups like Equality PAC and the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.

Lasher and Bottcher are part of a crowded Democratic field running to represent the coveted Manhattan congressional district, which also includes Assembly Member Alex Bores, Gen Z anti-gun violence activist Cameron Kasky and Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg.