Coming Up In 2026 – Political Races Affecting Our Readers
By Arthur Schwartz
2026 will be a banner year for Democratic politics in Manhattan, with a serious challenge to Gov. Kathy Hochul, at least one open state Senate seat, four to five open Assembly seats, an open congressional seat and challenges to two incumbent congressmen.
Governor
Antono Delgado & Family. Courtesy of Lisa Schwartz Delgado.
Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado has launched a serious challenge to Gov. Kathy Hochul, whom one pundit described to me as “the most inept politician he’s ever seen in Albany.” Could this be Zohran 2? A former congressman from Dutchess County, Delgado is a Harvard Law graduate and of Cape Verdean ancestry. His wife is a Jewish filmmaker and lawyer, and their children are being raised Jewish — an interesting twist in the race.
Congress
Rep. Adriano Espaillat was elected in 2017 to represent the northern third of Manhattan. His challenger, Darializa Avila Chevalier, 31, a recent Columbia Ph.D., hopes to be the next AOC.
Rep. Dan Goldman represents Manhattan south of 14th Street, as well as Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope and northern Sunset Park — perhaps the most liberal district in the United States. He is being challenged by outgoing New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who hails from Park Slope. Goldman, the wealthiest member of Congress with an estimated net worth of $300 million, did not endorse Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Lander allied with Mamdani in the Democratic primary and, as a Jewish community leader, played a role in his win. Expect lots of hate mail from the pro-Israel lobby groups, AIPAC, accusing Lander of being a self-hating Jewish anti-Semite.
Rep. Jerry Nadler’s district runs from 14th Street to about 110th Street, stretching west to east across Manhattan. Candidates include Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President John F. Kennedy; City Council Member Erik Bottcher; Assembly Member Micha Lasher of the Upper West Side; and Assembly Member Alex Bores of the Upper East Side. Bottcher, 46, is the oldest candidate in the race.
State Senate
Brad Lander with Zohran Mamdani. Credit: Brooklynvegan on Instagram.
Brad Hoylman-Sigal will become Manhattan borough president on Jan. 1. His Senate seat stretches into the West Village and up the West Side. A special election will be held to fill his seat. The only declared candidate so far is Assembly Member Tony Simone (Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen). Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal may run, though she has been pretty quiet about it.
Assembly
Assembly Member Deborah Glick, who has represented the West, Central and East Village, along with SoHo and Tribeca since 1992, is retiring. Announced candidates include Jeannine Keily, former Community Board 2 chair and district leader; Ben Yee, state committee member; and Ryder Kessler, a developer-backed housing advocate with Open New York.
Plenty More
Not only will Glick be replaced, but Assembly Members Tony Simone, Harvey Epstein, Micha Lasher and Alex Bores will also leave open seats behind. Manhattan south of 125th Street will be full of candidates running for office.
Arthur Schwartz is the Greenwich Village Democratic Party district leader. The view he expresses are his and not that of Village View.
As to NY-10. It’s NOT south of 14th street, it’s south of 15th street. It may not seem like much, but ALL of us on the south Side of that street west of union Square are represented by Goldman.
As to Tony Simone, he’s not running either, at least until Rosenthal makes up her goddamned mind. I think she’s procrastinating just to play with Tony’s head.