Diamant Hysenaj

According to his campaign website, Hysenaj was born in 1982 on a farm in Kosovo and fled with his family to the Bronx in 1991, at age nine, as instability spread across the former Yugoslavia; he says he has lived in New York for 35 years.[1] He describes working from age 11, delivering newspapers, shoveling snow, and learning the construction trade alongside his father, and he earned an associate's degree.[1] He founded a construction company in 2005 that closed during the 2008 financial crisis, and says he then worked three jobs, in sales, driving, and construction, to rebuild.[1]

Hysenaj founded DCG New York Inc. in 2014, which he says has contributed to more than one million square feet of residential and commercial development in New York City; the New York Post described him in June 2025 as president of the firm.[1][2] He announced a challenge to Ocasio-Cortez in June 2025, and after his Republican and Conservative Party primaries were canceled in June 2026 he appeared on the November 3, 2026 ballot as the nominee of both parties.[3][2] Hysenaj has been married since 2017 and, according to his campaign website, lives in New York raising two children with his wife, Tereza.[1] He received 21.5% of the vote to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's 78.2%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[4]