Election Q&A: Meet NY-12 Candidate Chris Diep

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Democratic candidate Chris Diep is running for Congress in District 12 in New York City's primary election on Tuesday, June 23.

Diep will face off against fellow Democratic candidates for Jerry Nadler's seat, including Assemblymember Alex Bores, Assemblymember Micah Lasher, Jack Schlossberg, George Conway, Nina Schwalbe and Laura Dunn.

NY-12 includes the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Midtown, Hell’s Kitchen, Central Park, Union Square, Chelsea and Stuyvesant Town.

Ahead of the election, Patch posed several questions to Diep about his platform, priorities, experience, and district. See his replies below.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article contains information about one of several candidates who have announced their campaigns for NY-12 in the 2026 primary election. Patch has contacted the other candidates with the same questions and will post replies as they are received. None of what Diep said during this interview has been fact-checked.

PATCH: What neighborhood are you from?

DIEP: Yorkville on the Upper East Side

PATCH: What languages do you speak?

DIEP: English, with a little high school French & a little childhood Cantonese.

PATCH: What’s your professional and educational background?

DIEP: Software Engineer trained through Flatiron School with a bachelor's in chemistry from BYU

PATCH: Renter or owner?

DIEP: Renter

PATCH: The cost of living in NYC is going up. What’s your plan to make New York City more affordable?

DIEP: My plan is focused on making an economy that works for working people and makes the American Dream real. It starts with tax cuts, so that workers can keep more of what they earn to buy what they need.

I want to invest in energy abundance to reduce dependence on oil and lower transportation costs for everyday items. In the long run, creating high-speed rail through a public-private partnership will create jobs and reduce transportation costs of goods.

Of course, I want to safeguard the Federal Reserve’s independence from the Trump administration’s interference so that the Fed can fulfill its dual mandate of stable prices and maximal employment.

PATCH: What is your position on bike lane expansion and street redesigns?

DIEP: I support bike lane expansion and street redesigns. For instance, I support the 72nd Street bike lane because reducing dependence on gas-powered cars will lower the costs of transporting everyday items (i.e. make life more affordable) and creating more opportunities for New Yorkers to travel by bicycle will help protect the environment.

PATCH: List two ways you plan to make New York safer.

DIEP: To make New York safer, I plan to invest in AI so that America can keep up with the latest threats in cybersecurity, especially because we are involved in so many foreign conflicts.

I also plan to increase taxes on firearms and ammunition to reduce gun violence and then use that revenue to fund evidence-based programs to help people and keep communities safe.

PATCH: What are your thoughts on the buffer zone bills sparked by protests in the borough?

DIEP: Buffer zone bills fall in line with the unanimous decision made in the 2014 case McCullen v. Coakley. We want to have free speech and find the right balance with public safety. I trust in the democratic process to find that balance and will voice concerns of my constituents to local elected officials.

PATCH: What type of relationship will you have with the Trump administration?

DIEP: First and foremost, I want to end the divisiveness from the Trump administration. President Obama recently wrote a piece on Abraham Lincoln and how there is only certain work that can be done together in a united country.

President Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address near the end of the Civil War still speaks to this moment:

“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, … to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

That is the spirit I would bring. When the Trump administration harms New Yorkers, I will hold them accountable. When cooperation is necessary for the good of the country, I will follow Mayor Mamdani’s example and work to deliver results. We should model the kind of politics we want children to see: principled and focused on the common good. During the World Cup as we welcome people from around the world, we can set an example for peace.

PATCH: It’s a large field: what sets you apart from the other candidates?

DIEP: Growing up, I witnessed firsthand how the American Dream changed my family's life. I’m running to make that dream real for New Yorkers through affordable housing, good jobs, and upward mobility.

With my background in tech, I see all the potential benefits of AI and the need for national regulation to best seize on this opportunity to help workers. My dad went to night school and made use of the latest technology at the time (the internet) when getting his stable union job.

I’m a fresh outside voice compared to the other candidates. The Democratic Party has failed to the point where President Trump won a 2nd term. A candidate capable of thinking differently from the typical Democratic Party experience is an advantage for the next two years.

PATCH: What local experience most shaped your politics?

DIEP: I volunteer as a soccer coach for Volo Kids and serve on the junior board for the New York Center for Children, so I consider the long-term effects of a decision for the next generation. The Founding Fathers built a nation that has lasted for 250 years. I intend for the nation to last another 250 years, and my policies reflect that foresight.

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.