The five leading candidates in the Democratic primary for New York’s 12th Congressional District squared off Tuesday night in a fiery debate hosted by NY1, with each candidate seeking to draw sharp contrasts ahead of Election Day.
Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of President John F. Kennedy, cast himself as the candidate best positioned to energize younger voters.
“The central question in this election,” he said, “is who is going to be able to galvanize the support of young people.”
What You Need To Know
Five leading candidates in the Democratic primary for New York’s 12th Congressional District faced off in a debate hosted by NY1 on Tuesday night
The debate featured Assembly Members Alex Bores and Micah Lasher, anti-Trump commentator George Conway, public health expert Nina Schwalbe and Kennedy family member Jack Schlossberg
Candidates traded attacks over outside spending, with questions focused on support from technology and cryptocurrency interests backing Bores and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s support for Lasher
While the candidates largely agreed on issues including abolishing ICE and opposing a war with Iran, they differed on Israel policy and Democratic Party leadership
George Conway, a prominent anti-Trump commentator, repeatedly argued that Democrats should focus on removing President Donald Trump from office.
“We cannot fix these problems until he’s gone,” Conway said. “The cart is before the horse if we do anything other than focus on impeaching Donald Trump.”
Public health expert Nina Schwalbe frequently challenged her opponents on a range of issues, including the leadership of Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer.
“I call on my fellow colleagues on this stage to raise their hand if they’re with me on asking Mr. Schumer to resign as the head of the Democratic Party,” she said.
The race’s two frontrunners also sought to distinguish themselves.
Assembly Member Alex Bores highlighted his work on regulating artificial intelligence.
“I’ve been leading the fight in regulating this technology,” he said, “because Congress is just missing the boat.”
Assembly Member Micah Lasher pointed to his lengthy record in government service.
“I chose public service. You chose Palantir,” Lasher said, referring to Bores’ previous work for the data analytics company. “I will stack our records against each other any day of the week.”
Bores’ past work for Palantir, which has contracts with federal immigration authorities, was one of several lines of attack against him during the debate. Bores also faced questions about outside spending in the race after technology and cryptocurrency interests spent heavily to support his campaign.
“Chris Larsen spent three and a half million dollars and counting to support Mr. Bores, who went out of his way to seek the support of the crypto industry,” Lasher said.
Bores rejected the criticism.
“This is a deliberate strategy that Micah’s consultants have come up with to try to distract from what my campaign really represents, which is fighting this industry,” he said.
Lasher, meanwhile, has benefited from $7.5 million in outside spending by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whom he once worked for.
“The last time that a New York billionaire tried to steal a third term, Micah Lasher was right there to help him do it,” Schlossberg said.
A question about Schlossberg’s family wealth led to one of the night’s most heated exchanges.
“As someone who grew up enormously admiring the legacy of service in your family, Jack, I say this somewhat sheepishly and mournfully,” Lasher said, “but when we talk about the reasons that each of us are on this stage, I’m on this stage because of nearly two decades in public service.”
“I have made my way here myself,” Schlossberg replied. “Do not ever invoke my family name to try to denigrate who I am.”
The candidates largely agreed on several issues, including opposition to U.S. involvement in a war with Iran and support for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, though Schlossberg positioned himself to the left of his rivals on Israel.
“I oppose sending offensive weapons to Israel,” he said. “I oppose sending bulldozers to continue perpetuating the illegal settlements in the West Bank.”
Schwalbe went further, describing the war in Gaza as a genocide.
She also provided one of the night’s lighter moments when asked to name her favorite New York Knicks player.
“Patrick Ewing,” Schwalbe said. “Even though I’m a lesbian, when I was a kid I had his poster on my wall.”