New York's 12th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York City. As of 2023, it is represented by Democrat Jerry Nadler, redistricted incumbent of the former 10th congressional district, who defeated incumbent Carolyn Maloney in the 2022 Democratic primary. Nadler is not running for reelection in 2026. The redrawn District 12 includes the Upper West Side constituency (former District 10) represented by Nadler since the 1990s, the Upper East Side, and all of Midtown Manhattan. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+33, it is the most Democratic district in New York and tied with California's 37th district (D+33) and Alabama's 4th district (R+33) for the ninth most extreme. The district is the smallest congressional district by area in the U.S. The 12th district's per capita income, in excess of $237,000, is the highest among all US congressional districts.
Contents
History
During the Civil War, the 12th District comprised the counties of Dutchess and Columbia. The 12th District eventually became a Brooklyn district in the mid-1960s, as the result of a district realignment due to the Supreme Court's decision in the Cooper v. Power case in 1966. The district was realigned to include majority African American neighborhoods such as Bedford-Stuyvesant in Central Brooklyn. Until 1992, it was the Central Brooklyn district now held by Yvette Clarke (and formerly by Major Owens), and then remapped to include Hispanic neighborhoods in Lower Manhattan and Queens. It is the third wealthiest congressional district in the United States and the wealthiest congressional district in New York state, with 39.7 percent of households earning over $200,000, per a 2024 study.
1803–1913:
Dutchess County, Columbia County
1913–1945:
Parts of Manhattan
1945–1993:
Parts of Brooklyn
1993–2023:
Parts of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens
From 2003 to 2013, it included parts of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. It included the Queens neighborhoods of Maspeth, Ridgewood, and Woodside; the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bushwick, Greenpoint, Red Hook, East New York, Brooklyn Heights, Sunset Park, and Williamsburg; and part of Manhattan's Lower East Side and East Village.
Prior to the 2010s redistricting, the district included several neighborhoods in the East Side of Manhattan, the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, and western Queens, as well as Roosevelt Island, mostly overlapping the pre-redistricting 14th district.
2023–:
Parts of Manhattan
Current composition
The 12th district is located entirely in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Manhattan neighborhoods in the district include:
Carnegie Hill
Chelsea
Flatiron
Gramercy
Hell's Kitchen
Hudson Yards
Kips Bay
Lenox Hill
Lincoln Square
Manhattan Valley
Midtown
Midtown South
Murray Hill
Roosevelt Island
Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village
Times Square
Turtle Bay
Tudor City
Union Square
Upper East Side
Upper West Side
Yorkville
List of members representing the district
1813–1823: two seats
From 1813 to 1823, two seats were apportioned to the District, elected at-large on a general ticket.
Recent elections
In New York, there are numerous minor parties at various points on the political spectrum. Certain parties will invariably endorse either the Republican or Democratic candidate for every office; hence, the state electoral results contain both the party votes, and the final candidate votes (Listed as "Recap").