Jack Schlossberg Launches Bid for Congress as He Works to Minimize RFK Jr.’s Impact on Kennedy Family Legacy

Jack Schlossberg says he is running for Congress after teasing a possible campaign following the news of longtime New York Rep. Jerry Nadler’s retirement.

Schlossberg, 32, announced his campaign in an email to supporters on Tuesday, Nov. 11, and in an interview with The New York Times. He told the outlet he believes that a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives is needed to restore democratic norms.

“There is nothing our party can’t do to address costs of living, corruption and the constitutional crisis that we’re in,” he told The Times. “But without the control of Congress, there’s almost nothing that we can do.”

Schlossberg, the only grandson of President John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy, has amassed a significant social media following in recent years as he works to defend the legacy of his grandparents.

The Democrat’s provocative approach to capturing attention online — like outwardly wondering whether second lady Usha Vance is “hotter” than his grandma Jackie, or posting thirst traps while waxing poetic about a fictional heartbreak — has landed him firmly in love-him-or-hate-him territory, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

“I think that the internet is a place where it’s difficult to break through, and it’s difficult to break through especially if you’re not saying something that’s controversial, or at least, somehow unexpected,” Schlossberg explained to MSNBC’s Jen Psaki in February. “And I think that I see that Democrats play that game not as well as we could.”

Buried among a chaotic flurry of sarcastic posts that cycle through his Instagram Stories each week, Schlossberg slips in authentic political takes that have made him an asset to the leaderless Democratic Party.

His web series, Test Drive, launched in July 2025, has become an avenue for him to dive deeper into current events, with episodes ranging anywhere from 12 minutes to an hour. Recording from the inside of a black sprinter van, he talks about whatever is in the news and on his mind, be it Sydney Sweeney’s divisive American Eagle ad, Stephen Colbert’s sudden ousting at CBS, or the Trump administration’s attacks on higher education.

Schlossberg’s journey into the political discourse ramped up after his controversial relative Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched a long shot presidential bid in 2023, even though the Kennedys had overwhelmingly rallied behind Democratic incumbent Joe Biden.

At the time, Schlossberg accused RFK Jr. — an anti-vaccine activist and political outlier in the family — of cashing in on the Kennedy name for personal gain without advancing the work that his uncles and father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, began.

“President John F. Kennedy is my grandfather and his legacy is important,” Schlossberg said. “It’s about a lot more than Camelot and conspiracy theories. It’s about public service and courage. It’s about civil rights, the Cuban missile crisis, and landing a man on the moon.”

Schlossberg continued: “If my cousin, Bobby Kennedy Jr., cared about any of them, he would support Joe Biden, too.”

Schlossberg, the son of U.S. diplomat Caroline Kennedy, studied history at Yale University and served as editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper. After finishing his bachelor’s degree in 2015 he followed his mom to Japan, where she was ambassador during President Barack Obama’s second term.

Schlossberg later returned to the States and enrolled at Harvard University, earning both a Master of Business Administration and Juris Doctor. In contrast with his beloved uncle John F. Kennedy Jr., whom he is often likened to, he passed the New York bar exam on his first try in 2023 and claimed he scored in the top 1%.

When asked by Town & Country in 2024 whether he was interested in joining the Kennedy “family business” and running for office, he told the publication: “Not anytime soon but I love politics. I love public service. I’m inspired by that legacy of my family. But I have no immediate plans.”

After Nadler, 78, announced his upcoming retirement from Congress, vacating the coveted NY-12 House seat after 14 terms, Schlossberg reportedly softened to the idea of elected office and formed an exploratory committee for a potential 2026 campaign.

New York’s 12th Congressional District, which encompasses most of Midtown and Uptown Manhattan, is the smallest House district in the U.S. by area and the most Democratic-leaning in the state.

Though Nadler called for “generational change” to come in behind him, the high-ranking Democrat added an asterisk days later when he learned that Schlossberg may run.

“Well, there’s nothing particularly good or bad about a Kennedy holding my seat,” Nadler told CNN’s Kate Bolduan. “But the Kennedy, unlike Schlossberg, should be somebody with a record of public service, a record of public accomplishment, and he doesn’t have one.”

Nadler predicted that the millennial-aged Kennedy “certainly is not going to be a major candidate.”

Schlossberg, who has taken an active role in the JFK Library & Museum and twice presented at the Democratic National Convention, seemed to take Nadler’s comments as a challenge, using his Instagram in the days that followed to tout his qualifications and share snippets of his platform.

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Schlossberg is not necessarily a front-runner in the 2026 House race, which will see him challenge New York state Assemblyman Micah Lasher and Gen Z Rhodes Scholar Liam Elkind.

Other rumored candidates have included 79-year-old former Rep. Carolyn Maloney — a senior Democrat who was ousted by Nadler in 2022 after redistricting combined their seats — plus Sex and the City‘s Cynthia Nixon, journalist Molly Jong-Fast, ex-Trump attorney Michael Cohen, and a few city councilmembers. An aide for former first daughter Chelsea Clinton shut down murmurs about her entering the race.

Schlossberg’s grandfather, JFK, got his start in the House of Representatives, representing Massachusetts for six years before serving as a U.S. senator and president of the United States. JFK was just 29 years old when he won his first congressional race.