Eli Northrup raises $92,000 and maxes out matching funds

Public defender and Assembly candidate Eli Northrup will report on Tuesday that he has raised $92,000 and qualified for $175,000 in matching public funds, the maximum possible amount, his campaign exclusively told City & State. He will also announce an endorsement from United Auto Workers Region 9A.

Northrup, the policy director for the Bronx Defenders’ criminal defense practice, is running for the Upper West Side seat being vacated by Assembly Member Micah Lasher, who is now running for Congress. Northrup originally ran for the seat in 2024, only to lose the Democratic primary to Lasher. This time around, though, Northrup seems to be the favorite in the race. 

He’s already racked up endorsements from a variety of progressive organizations and elected officials, including the New York Working Families Party, state Sens. Gustavo Rivera and Jabari Brisport, Assembly Members Amanda Septimo, Claire Valdez, Latrice Walker, Emily Gallagher, Anna Kelles and Gabriella Romero, and New York City Council Member Harvey Epstein. The endorsement from UAW Region 9A – which counts over 1,000 members who are registered voters in the district – is his first labor endorsement.

Northrup is not the only candidate running to succeed Lasher in Assembly District 69. Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay, an associate dean at the Jewish Theological Seminary, is also running and has been endorsed by City Council Member Shaun Abreu and former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger.