The field of candidates for the House seat being vacated by Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York drew two more contestants this week, with the campaign launches of two Democratic activists known more for their dedication to causes stemming from their own life experiences.
Cameron Kasky, a Parkland school shooting survivor and co-founder of the gun control group March for Our Lives, said on Tuesday that he was running for the seat. Mathew Shurka, an L.G.B.T.Q. rights activist who co-founded the group Born Perfect in opposition to conversion therapy, started his campaign on Wednesday.
Neither candidate has held elected office, but both stress that their years of organizing with Democrat-aligned causes have taught them the fundamentals of campaigning and legislating.
Though both consider themselves progressive, they are not fully aligned on some of the debates animating their party. But they share a frustration with nearly all their primary rivals that Democratic leadership in Washington has failed to deliver relief to struggling Americans amid power grabs from President Trump.
The two candidates have cast themselves as departures from traditional politics and hope to answer the calls for fresh-faced Democratic leadership that may have hastened Mr. Nadler’s retirement. They also plan to follow Zohran Mamdani’s example of employing a grass-roots campaign strategy.
Mr. Kasky, 25, would be the youngest member of Congress if elected. In an interview, he said he was inspired by the success of Mr. Mamdani’s campaign and hopes to emulate his focus on affordability and win over working-class New Yorkers. The Israel-Hamas war and atrocities in the Gaza Strip also compelled him to join the race.
“As a school shooting survivor, my young adult life began with me calling for an end to the senseless and despicable violence being committed against children and adults using weapons manufactured by America,” he said. “And seeing the genocide in Gaza made me recognize that the fight against that violence is something that needs to happen everywhere in the world.”
Mr. Kasky said he plans to run under the democratic socialists’ banner and hopes his run will help clarify the policies that the organization stands for. He has not yet joined New York’s chapter but said he has a friendly relationship with its leadership. He said he plans to appeal to the younger, more progressive voters in neighborhoods like Chelsea, who helped propel Mr. Mamdani to victory during the mayoral election. But it may be a heavy lift: Roughly half of the 12th District supported Mr. Mamdani’s opponent, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
The 12th District, which covers the width of Manhattan and runs from 14th Street to the northern tip of Central Park, is New York’s wealthiest and includes many of New York’s most recognizable neighborhoods like Hell’s Kitchen and the Upper East and Upper West Sides.
Eight other candidates have also thrown their hats in the ring. They include Micah Lasher, a state assemblyman and Nadler protégé; Alex Bores, a state assemblyman and former tech executive; Jack Schlossberg, a Kennedy scion and internet personality; and Erik Bottcher, an L.G.B.T.Q. organizer and city councilman from Chelsea.
Mr. Shurka, 37, said he sees an opportunity for generational change in the district and was inspired in part to run by the growing number of young politicians running for office. The 2026 midterms, he said, could bring “a new cohort” of lawmakers like him, who are pushing for legislation that can improve voters’ material conditions and champion social causes.
“I’ve been doing this work. I’m doing the work someone in Congress would be doing,” he said. “I am building coalitions. I’m sitting across the table from people who disagree with me to build agreement. Even sometimes, in my experience, you know, hostile people.”
Mr. Shurka, who underwent conversion therapy for five years as a teenager, has been one of the most prominent national voices opposing it. In his efforts to pass legislation to end conversion therapy nationwide, Mr. Shurka has worked with Democratic and Republican lawmakers in 27 states. He has helped author two bills in Congress combating it and filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, which is hearing arguments in a case about whether conversion therapy extends to talk therapy and, in turn, speech protections.
His work with Democrats and conservative Republicans, he said, has prepared him for his congressional run; Mr. Nadler cosponsored the bill that Mr. Shurka helped write seeking to outlaw conversion therapy nationwide.
The primary will be held next June and is expected to generate millions of dollars in advertising and fund-raising. Some outside groups have also started to get involved: On Monday, a PAC supporting the artificial intelligence industry said it would spend heavily to attack Mr. Bores after he championed legislation that would place guardrails around the technology.
Maya King is a Times reporter covering New York politics.
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