What Democrats want: New York congressional race showcases fight over party’s future

Jack Schlossberg at the ‘Believe In Someone Again' rally at Terminal 5 in New York last week. Photograph: Kyle Stevens/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen Jack Schlossberg at the ‘Believe In Someone Again' rally at Terminal 5 in New York last week. Photograph: Kyle Stevens/Shutterstock What Democrats want: New York congressional race showcases fight over party’s future In NY-12, four Democrats, including one Kennedy, are vying to replace Jerry Nadler – and potentially shake things up When news broke that a safely Democratic seat in New York’s wealthiest congressional district was becoming vacant, it was inevitable that there would be a crowded field of candidates. What people might not have expected is that the subsequent Democratic primary, would become one of the country’s most closely watched and action-packed, the race coming to reflect a range of Democrats’ national political priorities: who is the strongest against Trump; who is the most critical of artificial intelligence companies; and who is, basically, the coolest. Withdays left before the primary closes – early voting began on 13 June – the contest has narrowed to four white men, but it remains unclear which of them is ticking the most boxes. Voters in Manhattan’s 12th districthave been inundated with loud promises to imprison Donald Trump and to rein in AI companies, and bombarded by one candidate’s attempt to portray himself as a sort of early 80s-era tough guy, and another’s thirst-trap Instagram presence. Polling in the district, a sprawling area of Manhattan which encompasses the Seinfeld territory of the Upper West Side, the old-money grandeur of the Upper East Side, and the uber-expensive apartments south of Central Park which make up Billionaires’ Row, has been volatile. Micah Lasher, a New York state representative who, correctly, describes himself as a “nerd”, led the race in a mid-May poll; a couple of days earlier Alex Bores – another state representative whose campaign has become a proxy war between rival AI companies – was in the lead. Adding a sense of glamor and national intrigue is Jack Schlossberg, the cute yet callow grandson of John F Kennedy, and George Conway, the Republican turned vocal Trump critic who has been seeking, quixotically, to cultivate a hard-man persona. View image in fullscreen Schlossberg takes a selfie with David Letterman. Photograph: Kyle Stevens/Shutterstock Schlossberg, 33, has the least obviously impressive CV: an MBA from Harvard, but little pertinent work experience and no experience of being in public office. He is, however, handsome, has the famous Kennedy heritage, and is overtly youthful at a time when the Democratic party is being criticized for its gerontocratic nature. While party elders such as Chuck Schumer hunch over desks with glasses on the end of their nose, Schlossberg posts pictures of himself paddleboarding and surfing, or just clowning around: a recent video showed him pulling bodybuilding moves in front of a crowd of sup