Jack Schlossberg, the social media star and grandson of President John F. Kennedy, is considering running for Congress next year to replace longtime Democratic stalwart Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who announced his retirement plans earlier this week.
Schlossberg, 32, has never held public office, but told The New York Times on Tuesday that it was “certainly a possibility” he would run to fill Nadler’s seat, a highly prized New York City district spanning the center of Manhattan.
The 32-year-old Yale and Harvard graduate, the son of former diplomat Caroline Kennedy, has risen to fame in recent years, mixing political commentary and social media influencing, including serving as a political correspondent for Vogue during the 2024 election. He currently hosts a political commentary show on YouTube, recording episodes from inside his van.
Schlossberg is also a regular, scathing critic of family member Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Trump administration’s Health and Human Services secretary and the 32-year-old’s cousin.
Nadler announced his retirement plans in an interview with The New York Times published Monday, describing a need to pass his seat to the next generation of leaders after watching Democrats lose as an ailing Joe Biden ceded his 2024 campaign to Kamala Harris.
“Watching the Biden thing really said something about the necessity for generational change in the party, and I think I want to respect that,” Nadler said, adding that he hoped a successor “can maybe help us more.”
The retirement has set off a flurry of political maneuvering and speculation about who might replace Nadler and what that might say about the future of the party in New York and beyond.
Other famous names have been rumored to be considering the race — progressive star and former Federal Trade Commission boss Lisa Khan; Sex and the City actor and former gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon; and Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; plus a gaggle of New York lawmakers — but only non-profit founder Liam Elkind has formally entered the primary.
The race to replace Nadler will take place next June, and it is expected to be a high-visibility contest awash in cash, given that it’s taking place in the heart of U.S.’s media and finance capital.
“It’s the most coveted and arguably important congressional seat in New York because of the history of political influence from that seat, and also the fundraising base that comes with it,” Evan Thies, a Democratic strategist, told Politico of the race. “That allows you to be a national player and leader in the party, and you’re also representing one of the highest voting blocs for Democrats of any Congressional district in the country.”
Nadler’s unexpected exit plans, just a year after he speculated he might serve for another decade, is the latest shake-up in an already especially topsy-turvy season of New York politics, following the surprise victory of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in the city’s Democratic primary.
