Erik Bottcher: Campaigns and Elections
2021 City Council District 3 Democratic Primary
Bottcher announced his candidacy for the District 3 City Council seat in February 2020, seeking to succeed the term-limited Council Speaker Corey Johnson, for whom he had served as chief of staff . The district had elected an openly LGBTQ lawmaker three consecutive times, with Christine Quinn holding the seat before Johnson and Thomas Duane before Quinn . Six candidates entered the Democratic primary: Bottcher, Arthur Schwartz, Leslie Boghosian Murphy, Marni Halasa, Aleta LaFargue, and Dante Phelan-Fitzpatrick . Running with Johnson's endorsement and extensive union backing, Bottcher quickly became the frontrunner, raising more money than all but four other candidates across the entire city . On primary night, June 22, 2021, Bottcher led the field with 47.9 percent of first-choice votes, with Schwartz at 15.2 percent and Boghosian Murphy at 14.3 percent . After ranked-choice tabulation of absentee and additional ballots, Bottcher officially defeated Schwartz 71 to 29 percent in the final round . The Village Independent Democrats had endorsed Bottcher by a vote of 26 to 6 over Schwartz prior to the primary .
2021 General Election
Bottcher faced no opposition in the November 2, 2021 general election and was elected to the City Council without contest .
2023 General Election
Bottcher ran for reelection in the 2023 cycle and defeated Republican Robert Bobrick in the general election on November 7, 2023 . Under ranked-choice voting, Bottcher won in the first round of tabulation .
2025 Democratic Primary and General Election
Bottcher won the June 2025 Democratic primary for District 3 by a commanding margin, with one account reporting that his result replicated the dominance of his 2021 performance . In the November 4, 2025 general election, he defeated Republican Dominick Romeo, again winning in the first round of ranked-choice tabulation . This victory secured a second full term on the Council, though Bottcher would resign the seat within months to pursue state office.
2025 Congressional Exploratory Campaign
In October 2025, Bottcher filed to run for the U.S. House seat in New York's 12th Congressional District, which was opening due to the retirement of Representative Jerry Nadler at the end of 2026 . His campaign reported raising nearly $700,000 in the first 24 hours, a figure described as a record-setting early haul among the candidates . If elected, he would have become the first openly gay member of Congress from Manhattan and only the third from New York City, following Representative Ritchie Torres and former Representative George Santos . Bottcher formally launched the campaign in November 2025 but withdrew approximately two months later, in late December, when the path to the state Senate opened .
2026 State Senate District 47 Special Election
When Brad Hoylman-Sigal resigned from the state Senate to become Manhattan Borough President on January 1, 2026, a special election was called for his District 47 seat . Bottcher declared his candidacy on December 22, 2025, pivoting from the congressional race . He secured the Democratic nomination from the county committee on January 11, 2026, with endorsements from Hoylman-Sigal, Nadler, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, incoming Comptroller Mark Levine, and Assembly Member Tony Simone . Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, who had been considered a potential candidate, decided not to enter the race . Bottcher also received the Working Families Party line . In the February 3, 2026 special general election, Bottcher defeated Republican Charlotte Friedman, a first-time candidate, with 91.6 percent of the vote compared to Friedman's 7.6 percent, amounting to approximately 12,000 ballots cast for Bottcher versus slightly more than 1,000 for Friedman . He was sworn in on February 4, 2026 . His victory triggered a special election for his vacated Council seat, which was subsequently won by Carl Wilson, his former chief of staff .
2026 State Senate Full-Term Campaign
Bottcher is expected to seek election to a full two-year term representing District 47 in the November 2026 general election . The seat's current term runs through the end of 2026, and a full-term winner would serve through 2028 .