With all the controversy swirling around New York City elections in 2025, it’s easy to miss that Manhattan District Attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg is running to keep his position. He’s taken on some high-profile cases while in office, including newly minted President Donald Trump.
“District Attorney Bragg understands that safety and justice require investment in our youth and communities to prevent violence and crime before it happens and break the cycle of trauma,” said Rebecca Fischer, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, who recently endorsed Bragg’s re-election campaign. “Empowering our young people through leadership and engagement in their own communities is an evidenced-based approach to reducing gun violence.”
Bragg won his first term in office in 2021, fending off almost 10 candidates looking to replace former DA Cy Vance in the primary. He is the first Black person to serve in the role, and has faced a deluge of conservative criticism for being a more progressive figure when it came to crime reduction and combating gun violence. He referred to his approach as “restorative justice,” which has been tested over the years.
For instance, Bragg’s office prosecuted Daniel Penny for the death of unhoused Black New Yorker Jordan Neely in 2023, but failed to convict. Penny was found not guilty of negligent homicide, despite Bragg pointing to evidence from “medical records, videos, bodycam footage, and testimony from [more than] 30 witnesses.”
During his term, Bragg increased resources for gun trafficking enforcement, launched the Gun Violence Prevention Community Initiative to strengthen community bonds among Manhattan youth, partnered with Mayor Eric Adams to fight against the scourge of “ghost gun” firearms, worked on state legislation to make the manufacture of 3D-printed guns and gun parts illegal, and convinced YouTube to stop hosting ghost gun tutorials that targeted kids. Bragg’s campaign also said he has increased the number of gun cases that his office pursues, as well as invested in gun prevention and gun buyback events, reducing shootings in Manhattan by 45% since he took office.
According to NYPD’s crime data, Manhattan shooting incidents and deaths are down in the borough compared to last year. However, other issues, like rape or crime in public housing developments, are up.
Bragg has the backing of the Harlem community from which he hails, as well as anti-violence advocates such as Jackie Rowe-Adams, founder of Harlem Mothers & Fathers S.A.V.E.; Nick Suplina, senior vice president of law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety; and Hudson Munoz, executive director of Guns Down America.
“Every shooting shatters multiple lives, but we can end the awful tragedy of gun violence by electing leaders like Alvin Bragg who have the vision and work ethic to bring real change in our neighborhoods,” said Rowe-Adams in a statement. “Alvin takes the time to listen to our experiences and personally understands the impact of gun violence on our community. There is a lot of loud partisan, ideological noise out there all too eager to distort, smear, and lie about Alvin Bragg for their own political motives, but don’t be fooled because facts are facts: Alvin Bragg is making Manhattan safer against deadly gun violence every single day. With his vision, commitment, and leadership, Manhattan can expect overall crime and gun violence to go down even further in Alvin’s second term.”
Bragg has previously been endorsed by Congressmembers Adriano Espaillat, Jerry Nadler, and Dan Goldman,; former Manhattan Borough Presidents Ruth Messinger, C. Virginia Fields, and Gale Brewer; and the West Side Democratic Club, Downtown Independent Democratic Club, Martin Luther King, Jr. Club, Tioga Carver Democratic Club, Village Independent Democrats, Uptown Democratic Club, and Grand Street Democrats.
“I’m honored to receive the support of this honored group of distinguished leaders,” said Bragg in a statement. “With clarity of purpose and steadfast commitment to others, they have dedicated themselves to stopping gun violence and saving lives — and I am proud to earn their support.”
Both Bragg and his colleague, Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez, are up for reelection this year in a race that does not use ranked choice voting (RCV) to determine a winner.
In Manhattan, DAs tend to get re-elected and often spend several terms in office. Since the 1930s, there have been only five elected DAs. The trend may hold true this year, considering Bragg has virtually no real challengers from Democrats or Republicans.