The temptation of a wide-open new seat in Congress thanks to court-ordered redistricting has lured the first of many candidates to declare: State Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) tells THE CITY he will run in the Democratic primary for the newly drawn 10th congressional district.
“I’m in. I’m running, barring any changes the courts might make that modify the district lines, I plan on running,” he said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Currently, longtime Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan/Brooklyn) holds the seat. But provisional lines drawn by a court-appointed special master have consolidated the once-sprawling district into a more compact zone covering lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.
Nadler now says he plans to run in the 12th District, where he lives — pitting him against incumbent Carolyn Maloney, whose own Manhattan-Brooklyn-Queens district is now likely to become Manhattan-only.
The courts have until Friday, May 20, to finalize the maps, the culmination of a chaotic process that already delayed the Democratic congressional and State Senate primary from June 28 to August 23.
Hoylman said he intends to run if the court confirms draft 10th District lines that include the East Village, where he lives.
“I’m looking forward to talking to voters in the next few months. There is no better time for a progressive champion in Washington at a time when abortion rights and LGBT issues are on the line,” he said.
Liberal District
Former mayor Bill de Blasio is also reportedly vying for the NY-10 seat, according to the New York Post, which cited state Assemblymember Simcha Eisenstein, who said de Blasio “is committed to running in the race. He’s in, he’s running — he’s calling people.”
De Blasio previously mulled and then ruled out running for NY-11 when lines drawn by the Democratic-controlled state legislature pulled liberal Park Slope into the conservative Staten Island-centered district.
Those lines were ultimately invalidated by the state’s top court as impermissibly partisan — leading to the appointment of special master Jonathan Cervas to draw new lines statewide with an aim of making more races competitive.
Among the growing list of elected officials considering a run are Lower East Side City Councilmember Carlina Rivera, according to a source involved in discussions, and, by their own admission, Assemblymembers Robert Carroll (D-Brooklyn) and Yuh-Line Niou (D-Manhattan).
“I have received an outpouring of support from community leaders urging me to run in #NY10. Our country is at a crossroads and we need progressive leadership that can get results,” Carroll said in a tweet on Monday. “Over the next few days I will decide with my family and friends on how I can best serve New York.”
Niou spokesperson Max Burns said in a statement Tuesday evening that she “is seriously considering entering the NY-10 race.”
The new 10th congressional district leans heavily Democratic, spanning all of Manhattan below 14th Street and areas of Brooklyn spanning Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights to Park Slope all the way to Borough Park. Whomever wins the Democratic primary in August is expected to cruise to a November general election victory.
Other names being floated include former Council speaker Corey Johnson according to Democratic insiders. He did not respond to several requests for comment.
Nadler’s decision to run for re-election in the 12th District upended an already crowded Democratic primary. Both Maloney and Nadler are 30-year incumbents who chair powerful congressional committees — House Oversight for Maloney and Judiciary for Nadler.
Two of Maloney’s most high-profile challengers — Rana Abdelhamid of Queens and Suraj Patel of Manhattan — have not yet announced their plans.
Abdelhamid, who due to the newly drawn lines no longer lives in the 12th district, said in a statement via a spokesperson on Monday that “We are reviewing all of the details of these new maps, but it’s important to note that these maps are not final. There is a public comment period open until Friday and we will wait until that time before making any further decisions.”
A spokesperson for Patel, who now lives within the proposed 10th district and is challenging Maloney, wrote in an email Tuesday morning: “Don’t think we have anything to share yet!”
This article was originally posted on Brad Hoylman Hops into Open Race for Jerrold Nadler’s Former House Seat
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