Council Member Julie Won officially launched her campaign to succeed U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez in New York’s 7th Congressional District (NY-7) Sunday night, picking up endorsements from a number of endorsements from city and state officials.
Won, who announced her campaign at the beginning of February, drew over 250 community members to her official launch party at the Midnight event space in Long Island City Sunday night, which featured a performance by Korean drummers to mark Won’s attempt to become the first Korean-American ever elected to Congress in New York State history.
Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry, State Sen. John Liu and Assembly Member Ron Kim were also in attendance, providing Won with the first major endorsements of her campaign. Pedro Rodriguez, executive director of food poverty non-profit La Jornada, and Corinne Haynes, president of the Queensbridge Houses Resident Association, also endorsed Won at the event.
Won was a late entrant to the race to succeed Velázquez, with Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Assembly Member Claire Valdez announcing campaigns to succeed Velázquez shortly before the end of 2025, after the veteran lawmaker announced she would not seek re-election after 33 years in office.
NY-7, which straddles parts of north Brooklyn and western Queens, is one of the most progressive districts in the country.
Won promoted her “Lifetime of Care” platform at Sunday’s launch event, which aims to provide care at every stage of life to people across the United States.
The platform includes plans for universal paid maternity leave and free childcare, universal healthcare for all, expansion of Social Security and housing for all through social housing and tenant protections. The platform also includes calls for the abolition of ICE, climate action and the end of bombing in Gaza.
“Right now in America, you’re only valuable when you’re productive,” Won said at her launch event. “The moment you’re not—you’re on your own. I reject that. I believe your country should have your back from your first breath to your last.”
Won also touted the City Council’s unanimous passage of the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan last year, representing the largest neighborhood-specific rezoning in over 25 years and adding up to 14,700 new homes to LIC.
“Now I’m taking that fight to Congress—for mothers, for children, for elders, for immigrants, for everyone who’s been left behind. I’m running to deliver a Lifetime of Care, for every single one of us,” Won said.
Thomas-Henry, who was inaugurated as a Council Member in January, said she shared a number of similarites to Won, stating that she entered the race for Council District 21 as an “outsider” and as a candidate who “nobody expected to win.”
“She believed in my campaign when most people didn’t. That’s who Julie is: she fights for people when it matters, not when it’s easy,” Thomas-Henry said. “Washington is full of people who wait for permission to do the right thing. Julie doesn’t wait. She’s ready for Congress, and I’m all in.”
Liu, meanwhile, said he backed Won in a crowded field for the 26th Council District in 2021 because of her ability to listen to constituents.
“I endorsed Julie Won when she was one of 20 candidates and few people gave her a chance. She won,” Liu said. “I’ve watched her take on fights that veteran politicians wouldn’t touch—and win—because she actually listens to people and then refuses to stop until she’s delivered for them.”
Kim added that he has supported Won since her first race because she is “fearless, principled and effective,” stating that Won can be the “new face of the Democratic Party.”
“She chooses unity over division, people over politics,” Kim said. “She’s exactly the kind of leader we need in Congress right now.”
Rodriguez, appearing in his personal capacity, credited Won with helping out at La Jornada before entering elected office, adding that Won understands what it means “to worry about where your next meal is coming from.”
“Since taking office, she’s directed almost $700,000 to fight food insecurity, and she’s been right there with us the whole time, serving thousands of hot meals to families across Queens,” Rodriguez said.
Haynes, meanwhile, praised Won for her work delivering free WiFi to residents at Queensbridge Houses and securing investments for NYCHA in the OneLIC Neighborhood Plan.
“Julie Won sees walls that other politicians walk right past, and she tears them down,” Haynes said.
Reynoso and Valdez have also secured a number of endorsements since announcing their campaigns, with Reynoso scooping several major nods from traditional progressives, including Velázquez herself and Attorney General Letitia James.
The Brooklyn Borough President has also secured endorsements from Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Make the Road Action, the New York Working Families Party and several City Council Members.
Valdez, a prominent member of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), has secured endorsements from Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the United Auto Workers and the DSA since launching her campaign.
