These 10 Jewish candidates could be elected to Congress for the 1st time this

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The daughter of a Holocaust survivor, a gay man in a conservative-leaning area, and a Black woman from California — all are among the nearly two dozen Jews who are hoping to enter Congress next year.

Among the 46 Jewish nominees for the US House of Representatives are 22 incumbents — 21 Democrats and a single Republican. (Five Jewish incumbents retired or lost a primary this cycle.)

The remaining 24 are challengers or running in open seats.

Using a number of nonpartisan sources, including the Cook Political Report and 270 to Win, we’ve selected what we believe are the 10 who have the best chance of being elected this fall. (No guarantees though!)

Nine are Democrats and one is Republican. Here are their stories.

Robert Zimmerman

A communications consultant, Zimmerman is leaning into his identity as a gay man to win in New York’s 3rd District, which encompasses much of the north shore of Long Island. On his campaign website, he says his identity and “coming of age in the suburbs… a lonely and isolating place” helped forge a career dedicated to civil rights.

It’s a bold posture in an area that has a substantial conservative-leaning population, and in an era in which anti-gay targeting has reentered the mainstream.

The seat is opening because Tom Suozzi, the Democratic incumbent, is retiring.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates it as lean Democrat (as opposed to solid or likely).

Zimmerman’s political heritage is solid New York Jewish: He has been a senior adviser to three of the state’s venerable Jewish Democratic congressmen, the late Lester Wolff, the late James Scheuer, and Gary Ackerman, who is retired.

Greg Landsman

Democratic House candidate Greg Landsman poses for a photo as he holds Jerome the dachshund prior to the Running Of The Wieners race, as part of Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, September 16, 2022, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)

Landsman is a rarity welcome to Democrats this cycle — a viable challenger to a seated Republican. Because of redistricting in the state, Ohio’s 1st District incumbent, Steve Chabot, is vulnerable — Cook rates the election as a toss-up.

Landsman, who has a master’s degree in theology from Harvard and participated in the Wexner Heritage Program for Jewish leaders, has said that his Jewish identity was a motivating factor behind his successful run for the Cincinnati city council in 2017.

“There is nothing about the Passover service that I don’t love,” he wrote in an essay published by the Wexner Foundation.

“However, the ‘Elijah Moment’ and the discussion about freedom, fairness and justice stand out most for me.”

Landsman once directed Ohio’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

Seth Magaziner

Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner in his office in Providence, Rhode Island, February 7, 2022. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

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