Endorsed by Zohran Mamdani and Bernie Sanders and AOC and Sunrise Movement

Eli Northrup is a public defender and policy advocate who has dedicated his career to promoting equity and social justice. For over a decade, he has represented individuals in criminal court who cannot afford an attorney. At the Bronx Defenders, Eli was instrumental in legislative campaigns advocating for criminal legal system reform. He is running for Assembly to defend New York from Trump, support local institutions, and advance the affordability agenda.

Endorsed by Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC

Both of these candidates embrace abundance ideas for this community and we are excited at each of their approaches

The two candidates running to replace him are Eli Northrup, a public defender and legal director at the Bronx Defenders who ran here in 2024, and Stephanie Ruskay, a rabbi and community organizer making her first run for office. Both support a vision of a New York that builds and delivers more—more housing, more transit capacity, more energy infrastructure, and more (and better) services for New York’s most vulnerable. While we cannot recommend one over the other at this time, we may revisit as the race continues.

Northrup, who has been endorsed by the WFP and a slew of left-leaning electeds and organizations, leads with a platform focused on increasing subsidies and services for New Yorkers, funded by taxing the rich. On transit, he plans to push for better reliability to reduce car dependence. On the housing front, Northrup has adopted a Mamdani-esque combination of tenant protection and pro-supply policies, emphasizing SEQRA reform, cutting red tape, and transit-oriented development. This latter set of policies has earned him an endorsement from Open New York, in addition to housing groups more focused on demand-side reforms.

Our one hesitation about Northrup is the risk that his instinct to pair every pro-housing policy with affordability requirements could, in practice, make projects harder to build. He is aware of this tension, and said that he doesn't want to let perfect be the enemy of the good.

We acknowledge she falls short relative to Northrup in depth and specificity, but we are excited about how she talks about these issues and believe that she will find an audience.

He is a well-prepared candidate, presenting nuanced, detailed views on policy and government, and demonstrated a fluent understanding of how Albany works. He supported all of Citizens Union's reform agenda and identified campaign finance reform and judicial transparency as his top good government priorities. Citizens Union prefers Eli Northrup in this race.

CWA District 1 endorsed

A public defender, policy advocate, and community leader fighting for justice and protecting working families in Harlem.

The CAP also voted to endorse former Local 2325 member and public defender Eli Northrup for District 69 on the Upper West Side, New York State Nurses’ Association member and current Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest for District 57 in central Brooklyn, and immigrants’ rights advocate and union staffer Diana Moreno for District 36 in Queens.

“UAW Region 9A is proud to endorse Eli Northrup, a public defender and one of our former members, who has always stood by working class New Yorkers in the fight for a better, more just legal system,” said Jane Fox, chair of UAW’s New York City CAP Council and the Legal Aid Society attorney unit of UAW Local 2325. “Albany needs real people who have been on the ground pushing change and that's Eli. We know he will continue to push for affordability and advance a powerful pro-labor agenda in Albany.”

“As a working class champion and former NYSNA nurse, Phara has stood with our members on picket lines and in the halls of power,” said Brandon Mancilla, UAW Region 9A Director. “From working together on helping workers reclaim their time off the job, to standing up to powerful corporate interests, we know we can count on Phara. We are proud to endorse her for re-election today.”