Jack Schlossberg’s first bid for elected office ended well short of a Kennedy-style breakthrough.
The grandson of President John F. Kennedy lost Tuesday’s Democratic primary in New York City’s 12th Congressional District, a seat that covers some of Manhattan’s most prominent and affluent neighborhoods, including Midtown.
Despite a famous last name, a high-profile image and considerable public attention, Schlossberg was unable to turn celebrity appeal into a winning coalition at the ballot box.
Micah Lasher finished in first place, ahead of Alex Bores. Both men, who serve as state lawmakers, drew more than 30 percent of the vote apiece. Schlossberg placed a distant third, earning less than 11 percent support.
Lasher entered the race with significant institutional backing, including endorsements from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and outgoing Congressman Jerry Nadler, for whom Lasher previously worked.
Schlossberg, 33, had sought to convert his substantial online following into political momentum, drawing on an audience of more than 800,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok.
In the end, however, Democratic voters in the district appeared to place greater value on government experience and established political ties than on social media reach or family legacy.
Speaking at his watch party at the Cutting Room, Schlossberg nodded to his grandfather’s most famous line, saying, “All of us ask not what our country can do,” before adding his own local twist: “but what we can do to help our city.”
Jack Schlossberg on CBS Sunday Morning
Jack Schlossberg, seen in an image on his instagram account
Schlossberg, whose full name is John Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg, is the grandson of President John F. Kennedy, and the son of his only living daughter, Caroline Kennedy.
The Kennedy descendant pursued the congressional district left vacant by the retirement announcement of longtime Democrat Representative Jerrold Nadler.
Yet, despite his name, he was unable to capture the support of a significant number of voters in his district.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Schlossberg said that if he can’t win, ‘then nobody can.’
Schlossberg, a graduate of both Harvard and Yale, and has been active in progressive politics, as well as the media. Yet, his work experience appeared to be limited. When he was hired as a political correspondent at Vogue last year, he penned just seven articles.
Schlossberg spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, and frequently criticizes his cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who presently serves as President Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary.
He has even made headlines making fun of Secretary Kennedy’s wife, Cheryl Hines.
‘I have never met Cheryl Hines but if I did I’d tell her she looks super dehydrated,’ Schlossberg, 33, wrote on X in a post last July that went viral.
He has also clashed frequently with President Donald Trump, and even went after him when Trump added his name to the front of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The center has now been returned to just bearing Kennedy’s name, but after Trump put his name on the building, Schlossberg saw the renaming as a direct attack on him.
‘Trump explicitly motivated to act by JACK FOR NEW YORK,’ read a message posted by his campaign on X, adding that his run for office ‘represents everything Trump can’t stand or defeat.’
One Schlossberg voter who spoke with the Daily Mail on Tuesday said she was supporting him because America’s electoral system needs ‘new young fresh votes.’
Democratic congressional candidate Jack Schlossberg speaks during an election night watch party Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York
Democratic congressional candidate Jack Schlossberg and his mother Caroline Kennedy arrive greets supports upon arrival for an election night watch party Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York
Democratic congressional candidate Jack Schlossberg speaks during an election night watch party Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York
She said there’s a need for politicians who are ‘unfiltered by PAC money, or not influenced by PAC money.’
‘I am just so sick and tired of the money that goes into these elections, that discourages people who actually have something to contribute – energy, fresh ideas – from entering the race,’ she added.
Schlossberg did not take any PAC money in the race, while one of his opponents Alex Bores had been backed by $16.4 million in outside spending, and Tuesday’s winner Micah Lasher was backed by another $10.6 million.
