Illapa Sairitupac

Illapa Sairitupac is a social worker and tenant organizer from Manhattan's Lower East Side and the Democratic nominee for the open Assembly District 65 seat. He is the son of Peruvian immigrants and holds a Master of Social Work from NYU, and he previously ran for this seat in 2022. He is running on taxing high earners, expanding affordable and social housing, and opposing ICE enforcement in New York.[1][2]

According to his 2026 Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey, Sairitupac is the son of Peruvian immigrants and has lived on the Lower East Side for almost 14 years.[1] He holds a Master of Social Work from NYU and previously worked as a mental healthcare worker.[1] He describes himself as a local tenant organizer and an organizer with the This Land is Ours Community Land Trust, which advocates for community land trusts in Lower Manhattan, and says he has led Know Your Rights trainings and built local networks against ICE.[1]

In his 2022 survey, Sairitupac described himself as a social worker and climate organizer, said he volunteered on the 2021 Tax the Rich campaign, and said he was arrested in 2021 while protesting in support of the Build Public Renewables Act.[1] He ran for the Democratic nomination for this Assembly seat in 2022, initially considering a State Senate challenge to Brian Kavanagh before shifting to the Assembly race; endorsed by NYC-DSA and the Working Families Party, he lost the June 28, 2022 primary to Grace Lee, 48.6% to 34.5%.[1][2][3] He later served as co-chair of candidate recruitment for NYC-DSA until he resigned that position to run for the Assembly again in 2026, according to City & State.[2]

Sairitupac won the June 23, 2026 Democratic primary for the open seat with 36.5% of the vote in a six-candidate field, ahead of Jasmin Sanchez (17.6%); Grace Lee, the incumbent, ran for State Senate instead of seeking re-election.[1][2]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.