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Besides sending the occasional check to candidates he likes, Alessandro Uzielli, a great-great-grandson of Henry Ford, hasn\u2019t 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. \u201cThat,\u201d Uzielli recalls, \u201cwas pretty much the end of my political activism.\u201d<\/p>\n
But recently, Uzielli\u2019s 22-year-old daughter, Olivia, a senior at NYU, encouraged him to take her to a fundraiser for Jack Schlossberg<\/a>, the son of Caroline Kennedy<\/a> and Edwin Schlossberg<\/a> who was named after his grandfather, President John F. Kennedy.<\/a> Schlossberg is currently running to become the Democratic candidate in New York\u2019s 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.)<\/p>\n \u201cShe wanted to meet him,\u201d Uzielli says. He had been tracking Schlossberg on social media at Olivia\u2019s behest, but he wasn\u2019t expecting to feel much of anything. \u201cI was bowled over. His youth and enthusiasm are really encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack Schlossberg, at right, and the author Gabriel Rivera-Barraza at a New York City event in April 2026.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t the only one\u2014Patty Newburger, an executive at Tribeca Enterprises, and literary power agent Esther Newberg have both hosted events\u2014and several of his friends agreed to follow suit, as have a number of other well-heeled boosters with an interest in New York\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Indeed, after a few years of political ennui, New Yorkers seem to be clamoring to host Schlossberg at their homes and charge their friends\u2014tickets can range from $250 to $2,000\u2014for the privilege of coming to hear him talk. \u201cI get emails every other day about them. It\u2019s bananas,\u201d says a political observer who went on to forward half a dozen invitations to \u201cJack for New York!\u201d events. \u201cThe younger generation is so disillusioned with politics. They\u2019re looking for their JFK. They want the young American heroes to come back.\u201d It\u2019s an apt comparison, considering Schlossberg\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n One well-connected 22-year-old Upper East Sider hosting an upcoming get together for Schlossberg appreciates his \u201ccasual, approachable gatherings,\u201d i.e. pizza parties and \u201cfriendraisers\u201d where they can discuss current events at ease. \u201cJack speaks to my generation in a way that feels genuinely resonant, even motivating someone like me who doesn\u2019t typically engage deeply in politics to feel invested in his campaign,\u201d she says, describing his slogan, Believe in something again, as \u201cparticularly compelling.\u201d She isn\u2019t alone: \u201cWe\u2019re living in an era where we can\u2019t sit back anymore,\u201d says Uzzelli. \u201cHis policies are noble and admirable.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, not all of Scholossberg\u2019s appearances are at fundraisers. Here, he joined a group of striking New York City nurses in January 2026.<\/p>\n Among other things, Schlossberg wants to reduce corruption and increase transparency in government. He believes in affordable housing and renter\u2019s rights and gun control, including the “Ricochet Rule\u201d to combat the trafficking of firearms.<\/p>\n Next month, one 29-year-old stylist is hosting \u201cmy first political fundraiser\u201d for Schlossberg. \u201cI appreciate what he does in terms of noise. He understands how people consume media.\u201d It doesn\u2019t hurt that Schlossberg is young and \u201ca mix of blue blood and good looks,\u201d the stylist says.<\/p>\n To throw a fundraiser, one can approach the campaign and offer (although they didn\u2019t reply to requests for comments for this story) or wait for the campaign to come to you. It\u2019s said to cost $7,000 to host an event or $5,000 to be among the co-hosts.<\/p>\n \u201cWho doesn\u2019t want to host a Kennedy? That\u2019s what I think it fundamentally comes down to.\u201d<\/p>\n 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, \u201cit\u2019s become hotter to be into politics,\u201d says one social observer. \u201c[These candidates are] very telegenic. They\u2019re good at social media. Everyone\u2019s desperate to be invited to the Mamdani events. And that\u2019s what Jack has going for him.\u201d<\/p>\n This political observer, who wonders if Schlossberg is just a \u201cquirky weirdo\u201d rather than an \u201cuntouchable God,\u201d says Jack\u2019s own offbeat<\/a> (though recently more muted<\/a>) presence on social media might be playing a role. Or could it be the massive success of Love Story on F\/X<\/a>, which dramatized the life and untimely death of Jack\u2019s late uncle John F. Kennedy Jr. and crossed the ratings threshold of 65 million hours streamed as of early April. (Schlossberg has criticized<\/a> the Ryan Murphy series in the press.) \u201cPeople have really been into that show, and I do think it\u2019s increased the Kennedy mystique. Every generation somehow finds its way to the Kennedy mystique.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd,\u201d she goes on, \u201cwho doesn\u2019t want to host a Kennedy? That\u2019s what I think it fundamentally comes down to.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n![\"Eglantina](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ff3642e5-d0c5-45ff-b8b8-94a99007348c.jpeg\" "\\"Eglantina")
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Boston Globe\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n