NY-15: Public defender and DSA organizer challenges Ritchie Torres

Rep. Ritchie Torres is in for a primary fight as another challenger is ready to jump into the ring. Public defender, community board member and DSA organizer Dalourny Nemorin is set to announce her candidacy for the 15th Congressional District this evening in the South Bronx.

Nemorin, who is currently a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society, said that her interest in entering politics began in 2023, about a decade after she received her law degree. At the time, she joined Bronx Community Board 1, where she still serves as chair of the policy and legislation committee, and began laying the groundwork for a campaign. Nemorin didn’t start the process specifically with Torres in mind, but she said he is the “number one preoccupied politician” with donors at the expense of his constituents. “I think the most harmful politician we have that represents me is Ritchie Torres, and that has become clearer and clearer when I’ve done my work,” she told City & State.

Torres has represented the district, which is the poorest in the country, since he won a crowded Democratic primary in 2020 to succeed retiring Rep. Jose Serrano. He didn’t face a primary challenge in 2024, but next year he’ll face off in the Democratic primary against Nemorin; former Assembly Member Michael Blake, who lost to Torres in that crowded 2020 race; and progressive organizer Jose Vega, who ran against Torres as an independent candidate in 2024. Andre Easton, a public school teacher who belongs to the Party for Socialism and Liberation, has also announced a longshot run against Torres as an independent candidate.

Before deciding to run for reelection, Torres had flirted with the idea of primarying Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2026, which would have left his seat open for new representation. But after months of attacking the governor and broadcasting his interest, Torres ultimately decided not to run and endorsed Hochul for reelection.




https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/11/public-defender-and-dsa-organizer-challenges-ritchie-torres/409463/?oref=csny-category-lander-top-story