"Will the second time be the charm for Illapa Sairitupac? The socialist organizer confirmed to City & State that he plans to run once again for an Assembly seat on the Lower East Side. Four years ago, Sairitupac ran for Assembly District 65 with endorsements from both the New York City Democratic Socialists of America and New York Working Families Party, only to lose to Assembly Member Grace Lee by 14 points. Now Lee is running for state Senate, hoping to succeed retiring state Sen. Brian Kavanagh, opening up her Assembly seat."
"Though DSA doesn't hold any legislative seats in Manhattan, this district represents a pick-up opportunity. Mayor Zohran Mamdani won 65% of the vote in the district in the final round of ranked-choice voting in last year's Democratic primary, to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 35% - making it the most pro-Mamdani Assembly district in Manhattan south of 125th Street. Sairitupac is a very active DSA member and expects to receive the socialist group's endorsement. Until recently, he played a key role in NYC-DSA's electoral strategy as co-chair of candidate recruitment - a position he resigned after Lee's seat opened up and he decided to run for office again."
Illapa Sairitupac plans to run again for Assembly District 65 on the Lower East Side. Grace Lee is running for state Senate to succeed retiring Sen. Brian Kavanagh, leaving her Assembly seat open. Multiple Democrats and a Republican have filed for the seat, including Jasmin Sanchez, Jacky Wong, Mariama James, Lilah Mejia, and Helen Qiu. Sairitupac views the 2026 field as weaker than in 2022 and positions himself as a frontrunner with expected endorsement from the New York City Democratic Socialists of America. He recently resigned as NYC-DSA co-chair of candidate recruitment after launching his campaign.
Read at City & State NY
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]