Rep. Nadler won't run for reelection, citing need for younger leaders

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Sep 2, 2025

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NEW YORK — Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the powerful upper West Side liberal, says he won’t run for reelection in 2026, citing the need for younger Democratic leaders to power the party into the future.

“Today, I am announcing that I will not be seeking re-election next year and that this term in Congress will be my last,” Nadler said in a statement posted on X Tuesday. “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.”

Nadler, 78, said in an interview that the drama over former President Joe Biden’s initial decision to run for reelection in 2024 and his abrupt withdrawal from the race, convinced him it was important to pass the baton to a more dynamic successor in good time.

“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 New York Times.

He said the need to defend democracy against President Donald Trump’s aggressive right-wing push also made his decision more urgent.

“A certain amount of change is very helpful, especially when we face the challenge of Trump and his incipient fascism,” he said.

Nadler, who was first elected in 1992, said he plans to remain in office until voters choose a successor in the midterms to represent his deep blue seat, which is the most heavily Jewish congressional district in the nation.

The race for the district, which was reshaped to also include much of the upper East Side in the most recent round of redistricting, is likely to attract a crowded Democratic primary field.

A source close to Nadler said he plans to endorse Assemblyman Micah Lasher, a former aide, to succeed him.

Other potential candidates include Assemblyman Alex Bores, New York City Council Member Erik Bottcher, Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal and longtime state Sen. Liz Krueger.

Nadler has generally been reelected with only token opposition over his three-plus decades in Congress. He was forced into a Democratic cage fight with then fellow incumbent lawmaker Rep. Carolyn Maloney in 2022, but he easily defeated her in a primary.

Maloney is now 79 and is not considered likely to be a candidate to replace Nadler in 2026.

The dean of the New York delegation, Nadler led Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee throughout Trump’s first term and led the first impeachment effort in 2019.

But Nadler, who has never been known as a master of backroom politics, was ousted as head of the opposition on the powerful panel by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, after Trump’s reelection last year.

Nadler’s liberal legacy includes spearheading legalization of same-sex marriage and defense of civil liberties and voting rights.

He has built a reputation as a strong supporter of Israel, but has harshly criticized the Jewish state over the bloody war in Gaza.