Nina Schwalbe
Nina Schwalbe (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent New York's 12th Congressional District. Schwalbe declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on June 23, 2026.[source]
Schwalbe completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Nina Schwalbe earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University, a graduate degree from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.[1]
2026 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the June 23 Democratic primary for New York's 12th Congressional District as a battleground primary. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Alex Bores (D), George Conway (D), Micah Lasher (D), Jack Schlossberg (D), and six other candidates are running in the Democratic primary for New York's 12th Congressional District on June 23, 2026. The filing deadline was April 6, 2026. As of April 2026, Bores, Conway, Lasher, and Schlossberg led in polling, fundraising, and local media attention.[2][3][4]
Incumbent Jerrold Nadler (D), first elected in 1992, is not seeking re-election. Nadler endorsed Lasher on February 9, 2026.[5] The Washington Examiner's Ron Kampeas said, "many of the candidates are leaning into personal stories that help them stand out in a field where there is broad agreement on making New York affordable and stopping Trump’s excesses."[6]
Bores was elected to the New York Assembly in 2022. Bores earlier worked in the software industry as an engineer and manager. Bores says he is "the first Democrat elected in New York State at any level with a degree in computer science."[7] Bores supports regulations he says will limit the artificial intelligence industry. Bores said in a statement that "these AI Goliaths want to take over our safety, our workforce, and our kids’ minds for their own personal profit and power."[8]
Conway is an attorney and the co-founder of the Lincoln Project, a group opposed to President Donald Trump's (R) policy agenda. Conway says he has spent six years "[using] his skills and network to expose Trump’s lies, corruption, and lawlessness in the media and in the courts."[9] In a campaign ad, Conway said, "I'm running for Congress to take the fight directly back to him on your behalf...This is no ordinary time and I will not be an ordinary member of Congress."[10]
Lasher was elected to the New York Assembly in 2024. Lasher earlier worked as a staffer to Nadler, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I), and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D). City & State New York's Peter Sterne said Lasher was "widely seen as the heir apparent to retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler."[11] Lasher is running on his professional experience. Lasher's campaign website says he has "played a key role in passing landmark laws to strengthen gun control, protect abortion access, and raise the minimum wage."[12]
Schlossberg is a writer and social media personality who earlier worked at Rakuten and in the U.S. Department of State.[13] Schlossberg is the grandson of former President John F. Kennedy (D). Vanity Fair's Eric Lutz said Schlossberg is "[pitching] himself as something of a bridge between Democrats and a toxic social media environment that has been dominated by Republicans."[14] Schlossberg's campaign website says he is "focused on rooting out corruption, defending civil rights and personal freedoms, making housing affordable, protecting public health, and rebuilding trust in government."[15]
Also running in the primary are Micah Bergdale (D), Christopher Diep (D), Laura Dunn (D), Nina Schwalbe (D), Mathew Shurka (D), and Patrick Timmins (D).
As of April 2026, major election forecasters rated the general election Solid/Safe Democratic. In 2024, Nadler defeated Mike Zumbluskas (R) 80%–19%.
Elections
2026
See also: New York's 12th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on June 23, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for U.S. House New York District 12
Robb Huhn (Independent), Wilneida Negron (Independent), Karen Ortiz (Independent), and Lucian Wintrich (Independent) are running in the general election for U.S. House New York District 12 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Robb Huhn (Independent) | ||
 | Wilneida Negron (Independent) | |
 | Karen Ortiz (Independent) | |
 | Lucian Wintrich (Independent)  | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 12
The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 12 on June 23, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Micah Bergdale | |
 | Alex Bores | |
 | George Conway | |
 | Christopher Diep | |
 | Laura Dunn | |
 | Micah Lasher | |
 | Jack Schlossberg | |
 | Nina Schwalbe | |
 | Mathew Shurka | |
 | Patrick Timmins | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Erik Bottcher (D)
- Liam Elkind (D)
- Jami Floyd (D)
- Cameron Kasky (D)
- Alan Pardee (D)
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House New York District 12
Kaley Aldrich (R), Amy Jordan (R), Caroline Shinkle (R), Gavin Solomon (R), and Massimiliano Zappone (R) are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House New York District 12 on June 23, 2026.
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Mike Muñoz (R)
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, please email us.
Candidate spending
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micah Bergdale | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Alex Bores | Democratic Party | $2,236,329 | $191,021 | $2,045,308 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| George Conway | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Christopher Diep | Democratic Party | $10 | $0 | $10 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Laura Dunn | Democratic Party | $55,124 | $35,992 | $19,132 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Micah Lasher | Democratic Party | $1,374,760 | $199,456 | $1,175,304 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Jack Schlossberg | Democratic Party | $1,117,588 | $511,641 | $605,947 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Nina Schwalbe | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Mathew Shurka | Democratic Party | $301,608 | $47,936 | $253,672 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Patrick Timmins | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
|||||
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[16][17][18]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
| By candidate | By election |
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Nina Schwalbe completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Schwalbe's responses.
| Collapse all
- My vision for office is to champion a healthy democracy - one where our government cares for the well being of its people, works efficiently and effectively, and secures the safety of future generations. I will focus on protecting what matters, including health care. The private insurance industry spends much of its time denying care, not providing it. I support a single payer system that would eliminate the profit motive from healthcare, end the nightmare of surprise bills and denied claims, guarantee comprehensive coverage, and reduce total healthcare spending by cutting out middlemen and regulating prices.
- My next priority is to rebuild stronger, providing resources for child care, elder care, mental health, preventive care); but we can only accomplish these goals if we enforce the Congressional power of the purse, and make government accountable and transparent. It's useless to pass budgets if the Executive Branch simply ignores them or slow-walks implementation. Congress must use oversight, withhold confirmations and, if necessary, go to court to ensure appropriated funds are spent as directed. Every major federal program should have clear key performance indicators (KPIs)—like number of people housed, vaccine coverage rates, or infrastructure projects completed—so we can track whether taxpayer dollars are actually delivering results.
- Lastly we need to prepare for tomorrow by investing in science; climate and pandemic preparedness; and human rights based foreign policy. We need to Impeach RFK Jr. and restore independence to our scientific and technical community. He and the HHS are destroying the health of all Americans—current and future generations—with his bunk science and crazy ideas. s where 95% or more of kindergartners were vaccinated against measles has fallen to only 28% in 2025. As the only Democrat in Congress with a PhD in Public Health, I will make it my mission to restore independence to the CDC, NIH, and FDA and ensure they are guided by science, evidence and data. And we need to start with vaccines, biosecurity, and pandemic preparedness and response.
Having worked in refugee camps worldwide, I know our current approach to immigration is unjust and impractical. We need reform centered on family unity and pathways to citizenship, while protecting our community from ICE raids.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 3, 2026
- ↑ Our Town NY, "Race for Congress: Bores Picks Up Big Endorsement from DC 37 Union," March 26, 2026
- ↑ City and State NY, "Poll: Schlossberg leads NY-12 race," March 6, 2026
- ↑ New York Daily News, "NYC Democrats locked in contentious congressional primary fights as high-stakes midterms loom," March 28, 2026
- ↑ NBC News, "Rep. Jerry Nadler endorses former aide Micah Lasher to be his successor," February 9, 2026
- ↑ Washington Examiner, "Will this Upper West Side-based House district elect a full-throated Israel supporter?" January 9, 2026
- ↑ Alex Bores campaign website, "About Alex Bores," accessed April 1, 2026
- ↑ City & State New York, "Alex Bores vs. AI in NY-12," April 1, 2026
- ↑ George Conway campaign website, "Meet George," accessed April 1, 2026
- ↑ YouTube, "George Conway for Congress: Launch Video," January 6, 2026
- ↑ City & State New York, "Micah Lasher files to run for Congress," September 4, 2025
- ↑ Micah Lasher campaign website, "Meet Micah Lasher," accessed April 1, 2026
- ↑ John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum, "John Bouvier 'Jack' Kennedy Schlossberg," accessed April 1, 2026
- ↑ Vanity Fair, "Democratic Strategists Mull Jack Schlossberg’s Odds of Getting Into Congress," November 17, 2025
- ↑ Jack Schlossberg campaign website, "Meet Jack Schlossberg," accessed April 1, 2026
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
