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Attorney Vichal Kumar announces run for congress in NY-07
Kumar said his decision to run follows more than two decades representing low-income New Yorkers in housing, immigration and public benefits cases.
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Malvika Choudhary - Thu, 05, Mar 2026
- 11:54 EST
- 25
Vichal Kumar / LinkedIn/Vichal Kumar
Civil rights attorney and community advocate Vichal Kumar has announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York’s 7th Congressional District.
Positioning his campaign around immigration reform and worker protections, Kumar said he is entering the race after more than two decades of legal work focused on immigrant families, tenants and low-income communities.
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“For over 20 years, I’ve stood with New Yorkers on their hardest days — defending immigrant families, empowering tenants, protecting fundamental rights, and helping families get the support and care they need by building systems that actually work,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
“We’re in a moment that demands more than rhetoric. It requires leaders that have driven real results for working class people,” he wrote, emphasizing that his campaign is focused on working-class issues and systemic reforms shaped by his legal work.
The son of working-class immigrants has spent more than 20 years working in legal advocacy and public defense. He began his career at The Bronx Defenders, where he assisted community members dealing with housing instability, employment challenges, loss of public benefits and barriers to healthcare while attending law school at night.
The work focused on helping families remain in their homes and access essential services such as employment assistance, food support programs and Medicaid.
Kumar later helped develop a model of community-based legal defense in Harlem aimed at providing integrated legal and social support to individuals and families. He also worked with the nonprofit Partners for Justice to expand similar models of public defense across multiple states.
Explaining his decision to run, Kumar said “NY-07 doesn’t need another politician with a résumé without results and ideological talking points.”.
“We need someone who has been in the room when ICE comes for a neighbor, when landlords try to unlawfully evict tenants, and when families are denied even basic food assistance.”
His campaign platform includes calls to dismantle the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, strengthen labor protections, raise wages and expand healthcare access, including support for Medicare for All.
“For the last two decades, I’ve fought these battles and won,” Kumar said. “I’ve built systems here in New York and across the country that actually protect families and I know how to scale that work in Congress.”
New York’s 7th Congressional District covers neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens, including Williamsburg, Bushwick, Greenpoint, Ridgewood and Long Island City, and is considered a strongly Democratic district.
It is currently represented by Rep. Nydia Velázquez, who has served in Congress since 2013 and previously represented another New York district beginning in 1993.
The race is expected to draw multiple candidates. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and New York State Assemblymember Claire Valdez are among those reported to be entering or considering the Democratic primary.
The Democratic primary is scheduled for June 23, with the general election set for Nov. 3.
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