Anna Kaplan (née Monahemi) (born August 23, 1965) is an Iranian-American politician from

Great Neck, New York Great Neck is a region contained within Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, which covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine incorporated villages, among th ...

. A Democrat, she was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

, representing New York's 7th State Senate district, which runs from the North Shore to roughly the central part of Western Nassau County on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. She was a member of the so-called "Long Island Six," a group of six Democrats who represent Long Island in the

and often vote as a block. She was elected in 2018 as part of a wave of Democrats who defeated Republican incumbents and brought control of the New York Senate to the Democrats for only the third time since World War II. She lost re-election in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

to Jack Martins. Kaplan is the first Iranian-American to be elected to either of New York state's legislative chambers and she is the first former political refugee to serve in the New York Senate.

Early life and education

Kaplan was born to an Iranian Jewish family in

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, and raised in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, where her father was a carpet dealer. When the

Islamic Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Im ...

swept the country, Anna's parents sent her to the United States for safety at age 13. Arriving as an unaccompanied child refugee in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Anna was sent to live with a foster family in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, until her parents were able to legally enter the United States. After her family reunited in Chicago, they moved to

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, and then to

. Kaplan attended the

Stern College The Stern College for Women (SCW) is the undergraduate Women's colleges in the United States, women's college of Liberal arts, arts and sciences of Yeshiva University. It is located at the university's Israel Henry Beren Campus in the Murray Hill, ...

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

, and received her J.D. from Cardozo School of Law in New York City.

Career

Early political career

Kaplan started her political career as a member of the North Hempstead Town Board in 2011, and served until her election to the state senate. She had previously served as a trustee of the Great Neck Public Library and was also a member of the North Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals.

2016 congressional primary

On January 11, 2016, Kaplan announced that she would run for the seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

for being vacated by retiring congressman Steve Israel. Kaplan was defeated in the 2016 New York Congressional Democratic Primary by former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi. Suozzi won the general election.

2018 New York Senate election

On April 27, 2018, flanked by Nassau County Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Kaplan announced her candidacy for the

's 7th District to a large gathering of supporters and state and local Democratic elected officials at the "Yes We Can Community Center" in Westbury, New York. On August 1, 2018, Kaplan became the first candidate for New York State office to be endorsed by former President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. On November 6, 2018, Kaplan defeated incumbent Senator Elaine Phillips and won election to the New York State Senate with 55 percent of the vote.

State Senate

Kaplan was Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business, and was a member of the Senate Committees on Children and Families, Internet and Technology, Judiciary, Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, Transportation and Women's Issues. She was also a member of the Legislative Women's Caucus. In January 2019, Kaplan was one of four new state senators spotlighted by the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

in a piece on first-time New York senators.

2024 congressional election

In May 2023, Kaplan announced she would run for Congress in New York's 3rd congressional district, seeking to succeed George Santos in either the 2024 election or a special election if Santos were to resign or be expelled from the House.

Personal life

Kaplan and her husband, Darren, live in North Hills, New York, and have two college-age daughters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaplan, Anna 1965 births 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women politicians American people of Iranian-Jewish descent American politicians of Iranian descent Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in the United States Iranian Jews Iranian refugees Jewish state legislators in New York (state) Jewish American women in politics Living people Naturalized citizens of the United States Politicians from Nassau County, New York Politicians from Tabriz Yeshiva University alumni 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature