Jack Schlossberg’s Congressional Hopes Imperiled as Bloomberg Endorses Nadler Protégé, Micah Lasher

The former New York City mayor, Mike Bloomberg, endorsed Assemblyman Micah Lasher in the Democratic primary for New York’s 12th Congressional District on Thursday, dealing a blow to early frontrunner Jack Schlossberg in his quest to become the next Kennedy elected to public office.Mr. Bloomberg, a previous employer of Mr. Lasher, is prepared to spend “millions of dollars on a super PAC” to boost his campaign, sources told the New York Times. The billionaire businessman is also expected to help finance Mr. Lasher’s mail and digital advertising. The endorsement gives Mr. Lasher a lift in his bid to succeed the outgoing representative, Jerry Nadler, in his Manhattan House seat. The primary has become a race to watch, drawing 10 candidates including several high-profile Democrats like lawyer and former Trump supporter George Conway, State Assemblyman Alex Bores, and others. From the outset, Mr. Lasher was viewed as the candidate to beat, having earned a reputation as Mr. Nadler’s protege and secured his coveted endorsement. Mr. Bores, who leads in fundraising with more than $2.2 million raised, was also identified by political insiders as an early frontrunner.Early polling, however, placed Mr. Schlossberg at a significant advantage, securing the support of 25 percent of likely voters in the district. Mr. Conway came second at 16 percent, while Messrs. Lasher and Bores tied for third at 11 percent. Such surveys are often understood as measuring name recognition rather than genuine support, given that respondents were provided no information about the candidates beforehand.The race marks Mr. Schlossberg’s first political campaign and he has cast himself as an “outsider” and “anti-establishment candidate.” However, his campaign materials leave little doubt about the source of his political capital, with frequent invocations of the Kennedy family legacy.His official campaign site lists his full name — John Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg — and credits his civic commitment to “the example set by his family and by the city that shaped him.” In campaign photos, Mr. Schlossberg leans into his resemblance to his late uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., posing with a bicycle — Kennedy’s favored mode of transportation — and copying his trademark backwards cap, bike lock, and rolled-up pants leg.His bid has also been buoyed by splashy profiles in the New York Times, People, and other outlets, and by the endorsement of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.The campaign arrives at a moment of renewed public fascination with the Camelot legacy, stoked in part by a new television series on John Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. The show, “Love Story,” traces the couple through their tumultuous relationship and their deaths in a 1999 plane crash.Mr. Schlossberg will likely face questions about his lack of professional experience. After attending elite schools — the Collegiate prep school in Manhattan, then Yale, and Harvard Law and Business Schools — he worked as a political correspondent for Vogue magazine for the 2024 election. Since then, he has turned his attention to social media, amassing more than 1.7 million followers across his main platforms. His online presence has at times diverged from what one might expect of a political candidate, with posts ranging from shirtless selfies to ballet videos to inflammatory political commentary. Mr. Schlossberg is also known to delete posts shortly after sharing them and has on several occasions deactivated his accounts altogether.Despite his online following, Mr. Schlossberg reported no earned income in 2025, according to financial disclosures reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon. He does, however, hold millions of dollars in assets across four trust funds.

Jack Schlossberg’s Congressional Hopes Imperiled as Bloomberg Endorses Nadler Protégé, Micah Lasher

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