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The New York City Race Where the Establishment Won

And why that’s a good thing.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul celebrates with State Assemblyman Micah Lasher, who won the NY-12 congressional primary, at an election-night party.

New York—Tuesday night belonged to Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whose three insurgent congressional candidates won their races, taking out two Democratic incumbents. But here on the Upper West Side, business went on as usual. And that’s not a bad thing.

Representative Jerry Nadler, the progressive 34-year veteran of the House of Representatives, got misty-eyed as he addressed a packed house at Jacob’s Pickles on Columbus Avenue. “It’s been the honor of my life to represent you,” he told the swooning crowd, as it chanted “Jerry, Jerry, Jerry.” Nadler spoke quickly; he knew he was just the opening act, there to introduce his mentee, Assembly member Micah Lasher, who pulled off an enormous win Tuesday night over an onslaught of AI money and two celebrity rivals.

In a race briefly defined by the candidacy of President John F. Kennedy’s wacky grandson Jack Schlossberg (who once led in some polls, but finished with just 11 percent of the vote), and the vanity run of anti-Trump former Republican George Conway (who earned just 6 percent), Lasher’s victory represented the endurance of the Upper West Side’s liberal/progressive political machine, defined by its local political clubs, from the Upper West Side Democrats (named most powerful by City and State magazine) and the Broadway Democrats to the Three Parks Independent Democrats; its large co-op and condo buildings and tidy housing projects that host political meetings in stuffy basement community rooms; an infinite number of only-in-New-York diners that host families in their mostly red-upholstered booths—and also, on any given day, serve most of the district’s popular elected officials.

This was Bella Abzug’s, Ted Weiss’s and Ed Koch’s congressional district. On Tuesday night, City Council member Gale Brewer, Assembly member Linda Rosenthal, New York Comptroller Mark Levine, and progressive former borough president and City Council member Ruth Messinger were all on hand to cheer their guy, Lasher, as he bested his only genuine rival in the end, the Upper East Side Assembly member Alex Bores.

In the Race to Succeed Nadler, Micah Lasher Says Fighting Trump Is Not Enough Joan Walsh

In the Race to Succeed Nadler, Micah Lasher Says Fighting Trump Is Not Enough

How a New York Primary Wound Up at the Center of the AI Storm John Nichols

How a New York Primary Wound Up at the Center of the AI Storm

Governor Kathy Hochul also showed up. Lasher once worked for her, she reminded the crowd. “Now, when Micah Lasher tells you he has an idea, it goes deep. I’m told he has 65 ideas for his Project 2027. I’m not sure why he’s slacking off—when he was my policy director, he literally walked in with 220 ideas. That’s a true story of a brand new governor.” The 44-year-old child magician turned political prodigy has worked for a stunning roster of state and local leaders, from Hochul to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg to, of course, Nadler. And they all love him—which Hochul showed by coming out Tuesday night, and Bloomberg by his huge PAC investment of $10 million, which helped Lasher fight off........

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