Jack Schlossberg was, until yesterday, a high-profile candidate in New York’s 12th congressional district who seemingly had everything you might need for a modern political career: a winning smile, a Kennedy connection, an engaging social media presence.
The only thing he was missing? Actual policies on which to predicate his campaign. He came third in yesterday’s primary, after securing just over 10 percent of the vote.
“Jack didn’t have a message other than, ‘It’s time to shake up politics,’” Democratic consultant Chris Coffey told the New York Times.
Perhaps an aesthetic would have been sufficient for a political campaign at some point in recent American history, but this current primary season has proved that Americans care more about campaigns centered on specific issues.
Democratic candidates who saw success in New York on Tuesday – like Micah Lasher, who beat Schlossberg, and Darializa Avila Chevalier, from the 13th district – maintained strong stances on topics such as Israel, police funding and immigration.
Schlossberg was unwilling to take a firm stance on many of these hot-button issues. Instagram users were the first to point this out: “All you had to do was say free Palestine Jack,” one commenter said.
The closest Schlossberg came to a defining policy was his frequent comments that he was personally funding his campaign, rather than taking money from PACs or big tech. “No PAC Jack” was emblazoned on his campaign posters and social media posts. But considering his net worth of $20 million, largely inherited from the Kennedy family fortune, that sacrifice feels unremarkable.
Schlossberg’s campaign was largely conducted on social media, with chaotic posts ranging from a black and white glamor shot captioned “I’m not as dumb as I look” to a street interview clip where he guesses the title and artist of a song (it’s “The Climb,” by Miley Cyrus, because “I’m on the climb,” he gushes).
Though his videos gained traction among young viewers, older voters living in the Upper West Side and Upper East Side may have been less impressed by the forced attempts at relatability – if they saw them at all. It’s also possible that Schlossberg came across as too narcissistic: at his election night party, while conceding, he led the crowd in a chant of “let’s go, Jack!”
Even the Kennedy connection wasn’t a bonus in some voters’ eyes: “No kings, no princes, no dynasties,” read one comment.
“I’m running because I want to pass laws,” Schlossberg told David Remnick, the New Yorker’s editor, three weeks ago. “Laws that help the people in this district and in our country.” If only you had suggested what those laws might be, Jack.
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