Democratic candidate Cameron Kasky abruptly suspended his campaign for a highly-sought after New York City House seat Wednesday.
Kasky, a 25 year-old left-wing activist who centered his short-lived run around criticism of the Israeli government and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), cited the need to focus on pro-Palestine activism as his rationale for exiting the race. The democratic socialist and noted supporter of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani appeared to focus more on the West Bank than central Manhattan during his failed candidacy.
“Thank you to everyone who supported our human rights-centered campaign for New York’s 12th Congressional District,” Kasky wrote on X Wednesday. “It’s the honor of my life to be walking out of this race with the chance to do what must be done.”
Kasky later added that he was working on a “West Bank human rights emergency plan” with Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna, though the duo have yet to release details about the proposal.
Kasky, a survivor of the 2018 Parkland, Fla. school shooting, first rose to prominence in activism circles through his leadership of the pro-gun control March For Our Lives organization. However, he appeared to prioritize anti-Israel messaging in his run for New York City’s 12th Congressional District, which has one of the largest Jewish populations in the country.
Kasky, who is Jewish and has accused Israel of genocide, claimed to witness the Israeli state committing “horrors” against Palestinians in the West Bank after a “solidarity” visit to the area in December. The video was later picked up by Iranian state media to criticize Israel, the Times of Israel reported.
Kasky’s abrupt exit from the race attracted scorn from prominent commentators, who accused the Gen Z activist of attempting to score political points.
“So ends a brief experiment in what happens when a 25-year-old online communist cosplayer runs for Congress on the Upper West and East Sides of Manhattan—after (thanks to POTUS) the hostages are freed and the Gaza conflict has largely wound down—on a campaign narrowly focused on spewing relentless, venomous hatred at the Jewish state,” Jesse Arm, vice president of external affairs for the Manhattan Institute, wrote on X.
Kasky entered the race for the deep-blue seat at the end of November. He faced an uphill battle for the Democratic nomination against a crowded field of well-funded and better-known challengers.
A dozen Democrats are vying for the open seat vacated by longtime New York Rep. Jerry Naddler, who is retiring at the end of his current term. The central Manhattan district includes the affluent Upper West Side and Upper East Side and some of New York City’s most famous landmarks.
The crowded field includes former President John F. Kennedy’s grandson Jack Schlossberg, prominent anti-Trump lawyer George Conway and Democratic state Assemblyman Micah Lasher, a former Nadler aide.
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