George Conway, once a Republican and now a staunch critic of Donald Trump, chose the fifth anniversary of the January 6 Capitol riot to kick off his congressional campaign on Tuesday. He released a campaign video framing his run as a direct confrontation with Trump’s influence.
Conway is entering the race as a Democrat in New York’s 12th Congressional District. He filed the required paperwork with the Federal Election Commission back on December 22, 2025, but opted to announce his candidacy on January 6, 2026, perhaps as a way to underscore the political fight he aims to lead.
His campaign video, which can be seen online, features visuals from the January 6 riot, showing rioters breaching the Capitol and police officers in protective gear. “If you see that,” Conway states in the video, followed by clips of Trump moving toward the Capitol. He adds in a voiceover, echoing Trump’s words, “We’re going to pardon them.” He implores viewers to “Read it and feel it,” then presents a series of stark images, including troubling headlines about Trump and visuals that depict migrants being detained and expressions of discontent with corporate media. Conway ends with a serious note, stating, “It’s hard to believe, but this is real. It happens every day on the streets of New York City. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it actually does. This has to stop. We have to make it stop.”
In this advertisement, Conway labels Trump as “a corrupt president, a dark president, a criminal president whose undercover operatives are taking people off the streets,” claiming that Trump leads the government like a racketeering syndicate. He also contends that the president has fostered an economy that favors the rich while everyday Americans struggle to make ends meet: “For him, it’s all about crypto watches and gold sneakers, while others face food insecurity, healthcare issues, and skyrocketing prices that threaten to strip millions of their insurance.”
Conway’s opposition to Trump feels both persistent and personal. “I fought Trump publicly in every way I could, and I’ve faced the consequences. I will never regret it, nor will I stop helping those Trump has wronged, including supporting E. Jean Carroll in her lawsuit against him.” Notably, Trump owes her $88 million.
This marks Conway’s first venture into electoral politics as he competes in the Democratic primary for a seat in New York’s influential district, stretching from Union Square to the Upper West Side. The position is currently held by Rep. Jerry Nadler, who recently announced his retirement after 34 years in Congress. Other Democrats are also in the race, including notable names like Micah Lasher and Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President John F. Kennedy.
According to his campaign site, Conway co-founded the Lincoln Project to defeat Trump in 2020, established the Rule of Law Institute to combat attacks on the justice system, and actively supported President Biden and Vice President Harris.
The site underscores Conway’s disconnection from the Republican Party, stating, “George is a former Republican, but when Trump corrupted the party into a hub of brutality and fraud, George felt he no longer belonged.”
His campaign highlights Trump’s personal jabs as a sign of his impact, remarking, “Trump knows how damaging George’s counters can be, which is why he calls him a ‘ruthless loser.’ George wears that like a badge of honor.”
Conway’s campaign stresses its commitment to grassroots funding and rejects corporate PAC contributions, arguing that large sums of money “poisons politics.”
At the conclusion of his campaign ad, Conway asserts, “These are not normal times. I will not be a normal elected official. Let’s do this together.”
