Gov

Primary Election

PRIMARY WAS JUN 23

NY AssemblyNew York - 36

PrimaryDemocratic Party

Open seat in NY-36 draws three Democratic primary challengers

The 2026 Democratic primary for New York Assembly District 36 is an open-seat contest with three candidates: Mary Jobaida, Kevin P. Coenen, and Diana C. Moreno. All candidates emphasize progressive priorities such as housing affordability, workers' rights, and fully funded public transportation, with Moreno additionally pledging to reject corporate PAC money. No fundraising or polling data is available, making the race's dynamics difficult to assess.

Issues

6 issues · 2 candidates · every claim sourced

Protecting Democracy and Empowering Ordinary People

Mary Jobaida supports term limits, automatic voter registration, and safeguards against voter intimidation, while Moreno frames her candidacy as part of a movement to fight fascism and authoritarianism by building a multiracial working-class coalition.

MJ

Mary Jobaida

Mary Jobaida supports term limits for all elected offices, automatic voter registration, publicly-run workshops on how to run for office and how to organize for change, and instituting safeguards against voter intimidation and public disinformation.

Mary Jobaida campaign website
DM

Diana C. Moreno

Moreno frames her candidacy as part of a movement to fight fascism and authoritarianism from the Trump administration. She believes organized people are more powerful than organized money and aims to build a multiracial working-class coalition.

Campaign website

No public position yet from Coenen

Housing Affordability

Mary Jobaida supports freezing rents for stabilized apartments and establishing land trusts for community ownership, while Moreno advocates for strengthening tenant protections and creating a Social Housing Development Authority.

MJ

Mary Jobaida

Mary Jobaida supports truly affordable housing for the most vulnerable New Yorkers, freezing rents for stabilized apartments, and establishing land trusts and other social housing models to secure affordability through community ownership of real estate. She also supports tenant protections and help for struggling homeowners, including transferring tax-break benefits from big developers to small homeowners who live where they rent, providing city assistance for needed upgrades, and allocating support for building and maintaining Community Land Trusts.

Mary Jobaida campaign website
DM

Diana C. Moreno

Moreno advocates for strengthening tenant protections, defending rent stabilization, and creating a Social Housing Development Authority to build and preserve affordable housing with union labor.

Campaign website

No public position yet from Coenen

Public Safety and Justice for Immigrants

Mary Jobaida lists public safety and justice for immigrants as a goal, while Moreno supports the New York For All Act to restrict ICE cooperation and has participated in civil disobedience against ICE.

MJ

Mary Jobaida

Mary Jobaida supports public safety and justice for immigrants, as listed among her goals on her campaign website.

Mary Jobaida campaign website
DM

Diana C. Moreno

In coverage

Moreno stands up for immigrant neighbors under attack from Trump's deportation machine and supports passing the New York For All Act to restrict cooperation with ICE. She has participated in civil disobedience against ICE and has stated she is ready to defend her immigrant community, even if it requires putting her body in the line of fire.

✓ Track record — what they've actually done

Arrested in September 2025 at a civil disobedience action outside Federal Plaza, the epicenter of ICE detentions in Manhattan.

Campaign website and El País article

No public position yet from Coenen

No Corporate PAC Money

Moreno's campaign is powered by people, not corporate PACs, and she does not take money from corporate, real estate, or fossil fuel interests.

DM

Diana C. Moreno

Moreno's campaign is powered by people, not corporate PACs, and she does not take money from corporate, real estate, or fossil fuel interests.

Campaign website

No public position yet from Jobaida, Coenen

Workers' Rights and Local Business Support

Mary Jobaida supports workers' rights and local business support as listed among her goals on her campaign website.

MJ

Mary Jobaida

Mary Jobaida supports workers' rights and local business support, as listed among her goals on her campaign website.

Mary Jobaida campaign website
DM

Diana C. Moreno

Moreno has a background organizing with the New York State Nurses Association and other unions, and she emphasizes her ties to organized labor. She has fought for fair contracts for nurses, baristas, and delivery workers.

✓ Track record — what they've actually done

Previously served as communications director for the New York State Nurses Association and deputy director of New Immigrant Community Empowerment.

City & State NY article

No public position yet from Coenen

Fully Funded Public Transportation

Mary Jobaida supports fully funded public transportation as listed among her goals on her campaign website.

MJ

Mary Jobaida

Mary Jobaida supports fully funded public transportation, as listed among her goals on her campaign website.

Mary Jobaida campaign website
DM

Diana C. Moreno

Moreno supports making buses free, as part of her broader affordability agenda aligned with Mayor Mamdani's platform.

Primicias article

No public position yet from Coenen