Irene Estrada

Irene Estrada (formerly Irene Estrada-Rukaj) (born ) is an American perennial candidate.

Although she has never been elected, Estrada has run for a number of offices, including for State Assembly and City Council multiple times as a member of the Democratic Party. Estrada ran in the 2025 New York City mayoral election as the candidate of the Conservative Party of New York State. Estrada has lived in the Bronx since 1982, and currently serves as a spiritual advisor to the New York City Police Department Policewomen's Endowment Association.

Biography From Midland, Texas, Estrada moved with her two daughters to New York City's Bronx borough in 1982. She is Mexican American. At the time, she sat on Bronx Community Board 11 and was a civilian advisor for the New York City Police (NYPD) Explorers.

2025 New York City mayoral election In 2025, she ran in the New York City mayoral election as the candidate for the Conservative Party. New York City's unique system of electoral fusion often sees the Conservative Party cross-endorse Republican Party candidates, as they did at the 2013 and 2017 mayoral elections. In Estrada's words, "Pat McManus, the chairman [of the Bronx County Conservative Party], called me and said, Irene, if you want this slot, it's yours. So I said, I'll pray on it. And the Lord said, Take it."

As part of her 2025 mayoral campaign, Estrada focused on issues of public safety, promising to "preserve" the NYPD and restore respect for law enforcement, stating that Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani would "dismantle" such respect. She has sat on the clergy council of the NYPD's 49th precinct, and currently serves as a spiritual adviser to the Policewomen's Endowment Association.

Personal life Estrada divorced her husband in 2003.