JFK's Grandson Launches Congress Bid

Jack Schlossberg, the only grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, announced he was running for the congressional seat of Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who is retiring at the end of his term in 2026.

Nadler first won election to Congress in 1992.

Schlossberg announced his candidacy for Nadler’s seat with a video posted to Instagram. And he introduced his campaign by doing what many Democrats seem to do today, blaming President Donald Trump for many of the things Schlossberg felt are going wrong with the country.

“250 years after America was founded, and our country is at a turning point,” Schlossberg began. “It’s a crisis at every level: a cost-of-living crisis sponsored by the big, beautiful bill, historic cuts to social programs working families rely on, healthcare, education, and child care. It’s a corruption crisis. The president has made almost a billion dollars this year. He’s picking winners and losers from inside the Oval Office. It’s cronyism, not capitalism.”

“It’s a constitutional crisis with one dangerous man in control of all three branches of government,” Schlossberg also said in the video. “He’s stripping citizens of their civil rights and silencing his critics. The worst part is: it doesn’t have to be this way. And it wasn’t always.”

Schlossberg then introduced himself and highlighted his background as a resident of New York City, but did not discuss his family’s background.

“My name is Jack Schlossberg, and I’m running for Congress to represent my home, New York’s 12th congressional district, where I was born and raised, where I took the bus to school every single day from one side of the district to the other,” he said. “This is the best part of the greatest city on Earth. We have the best hospitals and schools, restaurants and museums. This is the financial and media capital of the world.”

“This district should have a representative who can harness the creativity, energy, and drive of this district and translate that into political power in Washington,” Schlossberg said. “I’m not running because I have all the answers to our problems. I’m running because the people of New York 12 do. I want to listen to your struggles, hear your stories, amplify your voice, go to Washington, and execute on your behalf.”

Schlossberg’s background includes academic credentials from Yale and Harvard. According to reports, he has a large social media presence and a substantial following. He has written for notable publications, including The Washington Post, Politico, Time, and The New York Times, among others. He’s been a frequent critic of Trump and Republicans.

“There is nowhere I’d rather be than in the arena fighting for my hometown,” Schlossberg said. “Over the next eight months, during the course of this campaign, I hope to meet as many of you as I can. If you see me on the street, please say hello. If I knock on your door, I hope we can have a conversation. Because politics should be personal.”

New York’s 12th Congressional District is considered the “most Democratic district in New York City, according to the Cook Political Report. It consists of the Upper East and West sides of New York City, Midtown Manhattan, Chelsea, Times Square, Roosevelt Island, and Hell’s Kitchen, among other areas. It has the highest average per capita income of all congressional districts in the U.S.