Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg loses crowded New York City congressional primary

By — Jennifer Peltz, Associated Press Jennifer Peltz, Associated Press By — Anthony Izaguirre, Associated Press Anthony Izaguirre, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/kennedy-scion-jack-schlossberg-loses-crowded-new-york-city-congressional-primary Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg loses crowded New York City congressional primary Politics Jun 24, 2026 5:21 PM EDT New York (AP) — The Kennedy dynasty won't be returning to Congress next year. Kennedy family scion and political novice Jack Schlossberg lost Tuesday to New York state Assembly Member Micah Lasher, in a closely watched and crowded Democratic primary for an open congressional seat in the heart of Manhattan. READ MORE: Mamdani slate sweeps Democratic primaries in New York, ousts 2 incumbents from Congress Lasher has spent his career in politics, working for officeholders including the man whose seat he hopes to win in November, Democratic longtime Rep. Jerry Nadler. Flanked by another former boss, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and other politicians in New York City's Democratic establishment, Lasher said in his victory speech that he aimed to "revamp and recharge the Democratic Party in Washington" and to show it has "bold new ideas to improve the lives of struggling Americans and then deliver on them." Lasher is well positioned for November's general election — Democrats make up two-thirds of the district's registered voters. Before the race was called, Schlossberg had made an early appearance at his evening watch party at a Manhattan concert venue to thank his campaign workers and reiterate his message that Democrats need to put forward more frank, responsive and inspiring candidates "who are willing to speak plainly about the cost of living, about corruption and fearlessly about the Constitution." "We don't just need younger candidates. We need different people," he said, adding, "unless Democrats learn from the signals that are being sent all across the country, we are going to keep on losing." About an hour later, deflated "oohs" rippled through the room of largely young supporters as they got news of Lasher's victory. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. The campaign was colorful and hotly contested, partly because of Schlossberg's star power as the social-media-savvy grandson of the late President John F. Kennedy, but also because the race became an expensive proxy fight among artificial intelligence interests. Schlossberg got plenty of attention in the race, as a member of a famous political family who delivered his own "progressive and aggressive" message in dynamic and popular, if sometimes wacky, social media posts. Supporters "don't just like me because I'm a Kennedy," Schlossberg told The Associated Press earlier this year. "They like me because of my experience, my ideas, and