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Besides sending the occasional check to candidates he likes, Alessandro Uzielli, a great-great-grandson of Henry Ford, hasn’t really been politically active since 1976, when he was 10 years old. His mother was dating Hugh Carey, the then-governor of New York, and Uzielli participated in a phone tree to encourage voting. The first call the kid made was to a deceased man whose widow gave Uzielli an unfortunate earful. “That,” Uzielli recalls, “was pretty much the end of my political activism.”
But recently, Uzielli’s 22-year-old daughter, Olivia, a senior at NYU, encouraged him to take her to a fundraiser for Jack Schlossberg, the son of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg who was named after his grandfather, President John F. Kennedy. Schlossberg is currently running to become the Democratic candidate in New York’s 12th congressional district in the 2026 House of Representatives election, soon to be vacated by Jerry Nadler. (He currently has 14 opponents in the race, but only a few other serious contenders, including state assemblymen Micah Lasher and Alex Bores and, well, George Conway, all of whom have their own devoted supporters.)
“She wanted to meet him,” Uzielli says. He had been tracking Schlossberg on social media at Olivia’s behest, but he wasn’t expecting to feel much of anything. “I was bowled over. His youth and enthusiasm are really encouraging.”
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Jack Schlossberg, at right, and the author Gabriel Rivera-Barraza at a New York City event in April 2026.
In fact, Uzielli was so impressed that he hosted his own get together in April for Schlossberg for around 30 people at his Upper East Side apartment. Uzielli isn’t the only one—Patty Newburger, an executive at Tribeca Enterprises, and literary power agent Esther Newberg have both hosted events—and several of his friends agreed to follow suit, as have a number of other well-heeled boosters with an interest in New York’s 12th Congressional District, which covers the Upper East and West Sides as well as Midtown Manhattan. Throwing a fundraiser for Schlossberg seems to be a new uptown flex.
Indeed, after a few years of political ennui, New Yorkers seem to be clamoring to host Schlossberg at their homes and charge their friends—tickets can range from $250 to $2,000—for the privilege of coming to hear him talk. “I get emails every other day about them. It’s bananas,” says a political observer who went on to forward half a dozen invitations to “Jack for New York!” events. “The younger generation is so disillusioned with politics. They’re looking for their JFK. They want the young American heroes to come back.” It’s an apt comparison, considering Schlossberg’s grandfather campaigned with his own unique style; for JFK’s 1952 Senate run, his mother and sisters hosted tea parties as a grassroots organizing strategy that is often said to have paved his way to victory.
One well-connected 22-year-old Upper East Sider hosting an upcoming get together for Schlossberg appreciates his “casual, approachable gatherings,” i.e. pizza parties and “friendraisers” where they can discuss current events at ease. “Jack speaks to my generation in a way that feels genuinely resonant, even motivating someone like me who doesn’t typically engage deeply in politics to feel invested in his campaign,” she says, describing his slogan, Believe in something again, as “particularly compelling.” She isn’t alone: “We’re living in an era where we can’t sit back anymore,” says Uzzelli. “His policies are noble and admirable.”
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Of course, not all of Scholossberg’s appearances are at fundraisers. Here, he joined a group of striking New York City nurses in January 2026.
Among other things, Schlossberg wants to reduce corruption and increase transparency in government. He believes in affordable housing and renter’s rights and gun control, including the “Ricochet Rule” to combat the trafficking of firearms.
Next month, one 29-year-old stylist is hosting “my first political fundraiser” for Schlossberg. “I appreciate what he does in terms of noise. He understands how people consume media.” It doesn’t hurt that Schlossberg is young and “a mix of blue blood and good looks,” the stylist says.
To throw a fundraiser, one can approach the campaign and offer (although they didn’t reply to requests for comments for this story) or wait for the campaign to come to you. It’s said to cost $7,000 to host an event or $5,000 to be among the co-hosts.
“Who doesn’t want to host a Kennedy? That’s what I think it fundamentally comes down to.”
With the ascent of New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, whose own campaign supporters included the likes of Emily Ratajkowski, Spike Lee, and Sofia Coppola, “it’s become hotter to be into politics,” says one social observer. “[These candidates are] very telegenic. They’re good at social media. Everyone’s desperate to be invited to the Mamdani events. And that’s what Jack has going for him.”
This political observer, who wonders if Schlossberg is just a “quirky weirdo” rather than an “untouchable God,” says Jack’s own offbeat (though recently more muted) presence on social media might be playing a role. Or could it be the massive success of Love Story on F/X, which dramatized the life and untimely death of Jack’s late uncle John F. Kennedy Jr. and crossed the ratings threshold of 65 million hours streamed as of early April. (Schlossberg has criticized the Ryan Murphy series in the press.) “People have really been into that show, and I do think it’s increased the Kennedy mystique. Every generation somehow finds its way to the Kennedy mystique.”
“And,” she goes on, “who doesn’t want to host a Kennedy? That’s what I think it fundamentally comes down to.”
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Schlossberg with his mother, Caroline Kennedy, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Karen Pence at the 2025 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Awards in May 2025.
The Kennedy name “arouses curiosity,” says Christy Ferer, a former political reporter as well as one-time commissioner for the Port Authority who has hosted events for Schlossberg in Palm Beach and New York. “But the like and credibility factor has to come from what comes out of his mouth.”
“Don’t get me wrong. He has a lot to prove,” she continues, adding that she’ll host Schlossberg in East Hampton and Aspen if he wins the primary. “But I think he’s interesting and smart enough that people who are not of this state will become interested in him as a future leader. We need cool energy to ignite people to vote again.”