Who will replace Jerry Nadler, who will retire in 2026 after 34 years in Congress repping Manhattan?

U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler will not seek re-election when his term as one of New York’s top elected officials in Congress comes to an end next year, the 17-term Congress member said in a statement on Tuesday.

He said it was time to hang up his hat and let someone else take over his Manhattan spot in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Today, I am announcing that I will not be seeking re-election next year and that this term in Congress will be my last,” the veteran politician said. “This decision has not been easy. But I know in my heart it is the right one and that it is the right time to pass the torch to a new generation.”

The career elected official, a Democrat, spent over three decades in his current post. He has played major roles in NYC milestone occasions, such as securing funding to rebuild the West Side’s Highline – an over one-mile elevated, linear city park constructed out of an abandoned rail track. First opened in 2009, the Highline today is one of NYC’s most popular attractions.

Nadler was also in office during catastrophic events in NYC that resonated around the world — most notably, September 11, 2001.

The 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center occurred during the first half of Nadler’s Congressional tenure, as well as how he contributed to managing the residual travesties that ensued following the atrocity. An advocate for first responders, he challenged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led at the time by Christie Todd Whitman, about the air quality in Lower Manhattan in the days, weeks and months following he attacks.

“And in the aftermath of the horrific 9/11 attacks, I fought to secure $20 billion for recovery efforts, led the hearings that exposed the EPA’s lies about Lower Manhattan’s air quality, and co-authored the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to provide support to first responders and survivors,” Nadler said.

Rep. Jerry Nadler and MTA Chair Janno Lieber chat at the opening of Grand Central Madison on Feb. 27, 2023.Marc A. Hermann / MTA

Nadler, 78, represents Manhattan’s Midtown, Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods, known as New York’s 12th congressional district. In a New York Times interview, he discussed former President Joe Biden’s lackluster performance throughout his re-election bid last year against then-candidate, President Donald Trump.

Biden’s performance during the June 2024 debate, where he stumbled on words and at times seemed to struggle with his statements, was highly criticized, as both Republicans and Democrats questioned whether he was capable

“Watching the Biden thing really said something about the necessity for generational change in the party, and I think I want to respect that,” Nadler told the Times.

Who will replace Nadler?

It is unclear right now who will replace Nadler. During his New York Times interview, he would not say who he would want to succeed him. However, City & State reported that NYS Assembly Member Micah Lasher of the Upper West Side could be a contender. A source close to the news outlet said Lasher is “like a son to Jerry.”

In July, CNN reported that Liam Elkind threw his hat in the ring to challenge Nadler for office. Elkind is a native New Yorker who founded the nonprofit Invisible Hands to deliver essential items to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 26-year-old Rhodes Scholar even told CNN that he is “respectfully asking” Nadler to retire.

“There has to be a way of both honoring the 49-year political career of someone like Jerry Nadler while asking him to build a bridge to the future,” Elkind told the news outlet.

Meanwhile, Nadler said he plans to stay active within the NYC community, without having a political role.

“I don’t know what the future beyond 2026 holds, but I plan to stay fully engaged in the community that is my home and in the causes that I’ve championed throughout my life,” he said. “My plans for the next 16 months, however, are clear. I will continue to give everything I have to defend our democracy, protect our institutions, and fight for the values that as Americans and New Yorkers we share.”