Julie Won
American politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Julie Jaehee Won (born April 17, 1990)[1] is a Korean American politician from South Korea. She is a member of the New York City Council for the 26th district, which covers the western Queens neighborhoods of Sunnyside, Long Island City, Woodside, and Astoria.[2]
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Julie Won | |
|---|---|
| |
| Member of the New York City Council from the 26th district | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Jimmy Van Bramer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 17, 1990 |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Eugene Noh |
| Education | Syracuse University (BA) |
| Website | Official website Campaign website |
Early life and career
Won was born in South Korea and immigrated with her family to Queens in 1998, when she was eight years old. Her parents, who had left their jobs in South Korea after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, both worked in local small businesses. She grew up in Long Island and attended George W. Hewlett High School.[3] Won received her undergraduate degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.[4]
Prior to entering politics, Won worked as a consultant and a federal client relationship representative at IBM in Washington, D.C.[4] She previously served on the Mayor of the District of Columbia's Office on Asian & Pacific Islander Affairs.[5] In June 2020, Queens Borough President Sharon Lee appointed Won to Queens Community Board 2.[6]
Political career
2021 city council campaign
In October 2020, Won announced her 2021 campaign for the 26th district of the New York City Council, held by term-limited Democrat Jimmy Van Bramer.[7] Won had been serving as a member of Queens Community Board 2 for most of the year, and cited the difficulties her family faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for her campaign. Ideologically a progressive, Won emphasized her work in the technology sector and her support for citywide free WiFi, alongside other center-left policy priorities.[8]
Won faced 14 other candidates in the Democratic primary, many of whom also ran on progressive platforms, with no clear frontrunner among them. In part because of the size and volatility of the field, many would-be endorsers chose to remain on the sidelines, while others – including Van Bramer and the influential Working Families Party – coalesced around New York City Census deputy director Amit Singh Bagga.[9]
On election night, Won finished neck-and-neck with Bagga, receiving 18.5% of the vote to Bagga's 17.7%; every other candidate lagged behind in the single digits.[10] Won received a major boost, however, when absentee ballots and ranked-choice votes were counted, and prevailed over Bagga 57-43% in the 15th round of ranked-choice tabulation; she formally declared victory on July 6.[11][12] She faced minimal opposition in the November general election, and won easily.[2]
2025 mayoral election
She endorsed Zohran Mamdani in the 2025 New York City Democratic mayoral primary. Her husband, Eugene Noh, who managed the re-election campaign of Staten Island congressman Max Rose, was hired as the campaign manager for Eric Adams's embattled re-election campaign.[13][14]
2026 congressional campaign
In February 2026, Won announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives to represent New York's 7th congressional district, after incumbent Nydia Velázquez announced she would retire.[15][16] Won was endorsed by John C. Liu, Ron Kim, and Shantel Thomas-Henry.[17]