Out and Unafraid: Erik Bottcher Launches Congressional Bid as LGBTQ+ Advocate Takes Center Stage in High-Stakes New York Race

When Erik Bottcher filed his exploratory committee paperwork in mid-October 2025, followed by his official campaign launch in November, he wasn't just another candidate throwing his hat into New York's crowded congressional ring. He was making a statement: it was time for the LGBTQ+ community to have one of their own at the table in Congress.

At 46 years old, Bottcher stands as the sole openly gay candidate competing for New York's 12th Congressional District seat, a position that will open following Congressman Jerry Nadler's retirement at the end of 2026. The district, which spans Manhattan's West Side and includes neighborhoods like Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen, and the West Village, has long been a stronghold for progressive politics and LGBTQ+ advocacy. Yet despite representing one of the nation's most queer-friendly districts, it has never sent an openly gay representative to Congress.

"This congressional district has a proud tradition of representatives who've fought for LGBTQ+ rights, from Bella Abzug to Jerry Nadler," Bottcher said in his campaign announcement. "But we've never actually had one of our own at the table. Our community is under attack in terrifying ways, and it's time to take the gloves off."

The political establishment took notice almost immediately. Bottcher's campaign raised nearly $700, 000 in the first 24 hours after opening his exploratory account—a staggering sum that demonstrated both grassroots enthusiasm and significant donor confidence in his candidacy. For context, such rapid fundraising at the local and congressional level is relatively rare and typically signals a campaign with serious momentum and broad appeal.

Speaking to media outlets on the day of his filing, Bottcher expressed confidence about the early returns. "I think the real story is going to be how much we raise tomorrow, because I think we're going to have a really good first 24 hours," he told City & State. "The campaign had already raised a ton." That prediction proved prescient, and the numbers suggest that LGBTQ+ voters, allies, and progressives are hungry for representation that mirrors their own identities and values.

Bottcher's political journey is inseparable from his identity as a gay man who survived profound personal hardship. Growing up in a small Adirondack town, he was the only openly gay person he knew. As a closeted teenager, he battled severe depression and made multiple suicide attempts, spending a month in a mental health hospital. In his campaign messaging, he credits New York City with saving his life—a narrative that resonates deeply with many LGBTQ+ people who have similarly found refuge and community in urban centers.

This lived experience shapes everything about his political philosophy. Since entering formal politics in 2009 as the New York City Council's LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS community liaison, Bottcher has made marginalized communities the center of his work. He organized grassroots campaigns on hate crimes prevention, transgender rights, housing for people living with HIV/AIDS, and marriage equality. Later, as the statewide LGBTQ Community Liaison in the governor's office, he helped orchestrate the successful 2011 push for marriage equality in New York State, traveling from Buffalo to Montauk to build grassroots support.

Bottcher's credentials as a legislator extend well beyond advocacy. Since his election to the New York City Council in 2021, he has passed significant legislation and negotiated major urban development initiatives. Most notably, he negotiated the Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan , a large-scale rezoning initiative spanning 42 blocks that will facilitate the development of approximately 9, 500 new housing units—including over 2, 800 permanently affordable units—along with more than $448 million in community and infrastructure investments.

Beyond housing, Bottcher has championed environmental justice through his Urban Forest Master Plan legislation, establishing New York City's first comprehensive tree canopy initiative aimed at achieving 30% citywide coverage. He's also launched an initiative to plant nearly 1, 000 new street trees across his district. On gun safety, he introduced the country's first legislation requiring gun retailers to post graphic warning signs about the risks of gun ownership—a measure that reflects his commitment to bold, innovative policymaking.

His constituents have responded enthusiastically. When Bottcher ran for reelection to his City Council seat in 2021, he won with 47 percent of first-choice votes under the city's ranked-choice voting system and ultimately defeated his closest competitor 71-29% once all ballots were counted. He faced no opposition in the general election.

Bottcher's entry into the congressional race adds another heavyweight contender to an already competitive Democratic primary. Other candidates vying for Nadler's seat include State Assembly Member Micah Lasher, widely viewed as Nadler's protégé; State Assembly Member Alex Bores; nonprofit founder Liam Elkind; journalist and attorney Jami Floyd; and Jack Schlossberg, the 32-year-old grandson of President John F. Kennedy, whose campaign launch added significant national media attention.

Despite the crowded field, Bottcher's unique positioning as the only openly gay candidate gives him a distinct advantage in a district with a substantial and politically engaged LGBTQ+ population. His campaign has signaled plans to campaign "everywhere, every day" across the East and West Sides, suggesting an aggressive ground game designed to build name recognition and deepen relationships with voters.

What sets Bottcher's campaign apart is not merely his identity but his explicit framing of the moment as one of existential urgency for democracy itself. "I love my country and I love my city, and they're under attack by fascist forces at the highest levels of our government—it's time for a new generation to step up and take charge," he stated in his campaign announcement.

In an interview with The Advocate, he doubled down on this framing: "We are either going to reject hatred and bigotry and discrimination, or our country will succumb to it." This rhetoric speaks directly to LGBTQ+ voters who have watched anti-trans legislation proliferate across Republican-controlled states and seen federal protections for LGBTQ+ people become increasingly precarious.

Bottcher has also pledged to confront what he calls GOP "corruption, cruelty and chaos" while holding Democrats accountable when they "fall short of the moment." This dual commitment—to fighting Republican extremism while maintaining pressure on Democrats—reflects a sophisticated political strategy that acknowledges the frustrations of progressive voters who feel their concerns are sometimes deprioritized by the party establishment.

Bottcher's campaign represents a significant moment for LGBTQ+ political representation. While there are currently out LGBTQ+ members of Congress, having an openly gay representative from a district as historically important as New York's 12th would carry symbolic and practical weight. The district has been represented by legendary LGBTQ+ allies like Bella Abzug and Jerry Nadler, but never by someone who is themselves LGBTQ+.

For many in the LGBTQ+ community, particularly younger voters and those who have come of age during a period of increasing anti-LGBTQ+ political mobilization, Bottcher's campaign offers something powerful: a candidate whose entire political identity is built on the premise that LGBTQ+ liberation is not a secondary issue but a central one. He's not running as a gay candidate who happens to care about other issues; he's running as someone for whom LGBTQ+ rights and the rights of all marginalized people are the foundation of his political vision.

The early fundraising numbers suggest that this message is resonating. Whether Bottcher can maintain that momentum through a crowded primary remains to be seen, but his entry into the race has already shifted the conversation about who gets to represent this pivotal district and whose stories and experiences matter in Congress.