Cameron Kasky, the 25-year-old Parkland school shooting survivor, activist and co-founder of March For Our Lives has launched a campaign to run for Congress to represent New York’s 12th Congressional District of Manhattan. He is running as a Democratic candidate. New Yorkers will vote in June 2026 in a primary election to determine who appears on the Nov. 3 ballot.
His candidacy takes inspiration from New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, from the branding and marketing to his clear-cut and short list of policies. He picked up on the policy-based messaging that made Mamdani’s platform successful.
Kasky’s bid for Congress centers around three key policies listed on his campaign website: the end of weapons sales and funding to Israel, Medicare for all and the abolishment of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) federal agency.
The Manhattan district has been represented by Congressman Jerrold (Jerry) Nadler for more than 30 years, who is not seeking reelection. Eight Democratic candidates are officially running for the office, including Alex Bores, Erik Bottcher, Laura Dunn, Liam Elkind, Jami Floyd, Kasky, Alan Pardee, Jack Schlossberg and Mathew Shurka.
Kasky, who identifies as Jewish, condemns the Palestinian genocide and plans to block the financing of the “Greater Israel” plan, citing that the two-state solution is not enough to protect Palestinians from violence. Kasky said he criticizes the usage of the Jewish faith as an ‘excuse’ to commit genocide and colonial violence. Similarly, another one of his key policies involves combating hate crimes, including anti-Semitism.
“I am the person in the race who acknowledges that we are currently financing a genocide and we are currently failing to place sanctions on another country that is financing and directly training the people carrying out a genocide,” Kasky said. “This is the stuff I like to talk about, because I think that there’s going to be a lot of candidates who try to take disguised positions on these issues, without going all the way.”
His positioning, while reflective of New Yorkers’ declining support of Israel, has still received criticism by news organizations like the Times of Israel, which challenged him for acknowledging the genocide.
He aims to pass policies protecting reproductive rights, the climate and Ukraine funding. Systemic issues, like the prison industrial complex and housing and education affordability, are also key issues for Kasky.
In addition, he aims to increase regulation on Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies, citing environmental, job market and mental health concerns. He is worried about politicians using AI to manipulate voters in a dishonest manner.
As a direct contrast, Kasky’s marketing consists of using social media to posture himself as an honest New Yorker. He uses a two-color hand-painted logo and a launch video with an informal and fast-paced style, imitating Mamdani’s successful social media tactics. He utilizes his Instagram platform, where he has amassed 84 thousand followers, to promote his campaign.
His campaign video states that the cause of the Parkland shooting happened due to America’s failing system. He advocates for common-sense gun laws as one of his 12 policies.
While some cite his age as a concern for the job, Kasky has shown experience in lawmaking through his activism in Florida, where he pushed for several pieces of gun violence reform legislation. Still, he is ten years younger than the youngest senator in history, raising questions from critics about the needed experience for the job at hand.
His campaign is indicative of a movement towards younger and policy-based Democratic voices.
