Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., plans to endorse Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of President John F. Kennedy, in his run for a competitive House seat in New York City, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.
Schlossberg, 33, an online political commentator and a cousin of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s — whom he has been critical of — announced his candidacy in November. He is running for the Manhattan-based seat currently held by Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Democrat, who is retiring.
The New York Times first reported Pelosi’s intent to endorse Schlossberg.
NBC News has reached out to Schlossberg’s campaign for comment.
Schlossberg will compete in a crowded Democratic primary in June that includes state Assembly member Micah Lasher, a former Nadler aide and mentee who has nabbed endorsements from a slew of prominent Manhattan Democrats. George Conway, a conservative lawyer and Trump critic, is also running for the seat as a Democrat. Nadler, a longtime ally of Pelosi’s, has not made a formal endorsement in the race.
Schlossberg said in a video announcing his candidacy in November that he is “running for Congress to represent my home, New York’s 12th Congressional District, where I was born and raised, where I took the bus to school every single day from one side of the district to the other.”
He has gained a notable following on social media, with fans drawn to his candid, freewheeling and sometimes crass political commentary style.
The 12th Congressional District of New York composes the geographical heart of Manhattan, including all of Central Park.
“We have the best hospitals and schools, restaurants and museums,” Schlossberg said in his statement announcing his candidacy. “This is the financial and media capital of the world. This district should have a representative who can harness the creativity, energy and drive of this district and translate that into political power in Washington.”
