Yuh-Line Niou

Yuh-Line Niou (; ; born July 15, 1983) is an American politician who served as a member of the New York State Assembly for the 65th district from 2017 to 2022. The Lower Manhattan district, which was heavily Democratic and over 40% Asian American, included Chinatown, the Financial District, Battery Park City, and the Lower East Side. Niou was the first Asian American elected to the State Assembly for the district. She was defeated in the June 2026 Democratic primary by Assemblymember Grace Lee 62 percent to 37 percent.

Early life and education Niou was born in Taipei, Taiwan, the eldest of three children, and emigrated to the U.S. with her parents when she was six months old. She went to school in El Paso, Texas.

Her mother worked as a registered nurse and hospital administrator while her father worked as a materials science engineer. From 2001 to 2010, her father worked as a senior director at Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), a Chinese-state owned company, in Shanghai, China. and El Paso, Texas, She attended and graduated from Columbia River High School.

Niou earned her Bachelor of Arts in social policy from Evergreen State College and worked as a legislative assistant to State Representative Eileen Cody and Senator Debbie Regala of the Washington State Legislature. She moved to New York City in 2010 to obtain a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Baruch College, and served as chief of staff to Ron Kim, a member of the New York State Assembly.

New York State Assembly Elections After a corruption scandal involving Sheldon Silver forced his resignation, a special election was held to fill the vacancy in April 2016. Alice Cancel, an ally of Silver and a local Democratic District leader, ran as the nominee of the Democratic Party, while Niou, with the encouragement of former State Senator Daniel Squadron, ran as the Working Families Party candidate. Cancel won the special election.

Niou ran for the seat again in the 2016 Democratic primary and won the Democratic nomination in September 2016.

In 2018 Niou was uncontested in the primary and general elections. In 2020, Grace Lee ran against Niou in the Democratic primary, receiving 35.7% of the vote to Niou's 64%. Niou was uncontested in the 2020 general election.

Tenure While serving in the New York State Assembly, Niou prioritized legislation related to consumer protection and tenants rights and advocated for increased funding for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). She also worked to prevent a new housing and office building from being developed on community supported green space, the Elizabeth Street Garden. Eventually, the garden's nonprofit lost the battle to save the space, which had begun in 2012, prior to Niou's election.

In January 2019, during an assembly hearing regarding the Child Victims Act, Niou recounted her own sexual assault. The act passed in the state Assembly that day with a vote of 130–3. In the same year, she voted to ban the possession of firearms on school campuses with the exception of school's police officers and security guards, prohibit the manufacturing, sale, or ownership of untraceable 3D printed firearms, and establish a firearm buyback program in New York. All bills passed the State Assembly and State Senate and were signed into law by New York's governor Andrew Cuomo. prohibit arrests for lawful abortions, and prohibit extradition of abortion providers to other states. and co-chair of the Asian Pacific American Task Force that focuses on fighting anti-Asian bigotry and hate crimes in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

2022 congressional candidacy

In December 2021, Niou stated her intention to issue a primary challenge against state Senator Brian P. Kavanagh of New York's 26th State Senate district. In May 2022, Niou announced she was instead running for Congress in New York's 10th congressional district. She was endorsed by the Working Families Party, Sunrise Movement NYC, New York Communities for Change, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, State Sen. Julia Salazar, State Assemblymember Ron Kim, Mayor of Boston Michelle Wu, former gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, former candidate for Manhattan District Attorney Tahanie Aboushi, and dozens of other elected officials, activists, and organizations.

Niou garnered about 1,300 fewer votes than Dan Goldman in the crowded Democratic primary from in-person ballots according to the Associated Press. She conceded the primary on September 6 after most of the remaining absentee ballots had been counted. She decided against a third-party challenge to Goldman using the Working Families Party ballot line in the general election, citing her priority of defending democracy in other competitive races and lack of resources needed to mount a serious challenge against the Democratic nominee.

Post Assembly Activities Niou worked with The Chinatown Defense Network Coalition. She also worked with Hands Off New York between the month when she left The New York State Assembly and announcing her run for the New York State Senate.

2026 New York State Senate Primary In January 2026, Niou decided to run for New York State Senate's 27th District; the district consists of the neighborhoods of Greenwich Vilage, the East Villiage, Tribeca, The Financial District, and neighborhoods in between. The seat is being vacated by New York State Senator Brian Kavanaugh in January 2027; Kavanaugh decided not to run for reelection in November 2026. New York State Assemblywoman Grace Lee was her only challenger in the Democratic Party Primary on June 23. This primary is the first election in New York county (or the borough of Manhattan) history where only 2 female candidates of East Asian ancestry ran for an open seat in the New York State Senate. Unlike the results of their last primary for the Assembly seat, Lee defeated Niou in this contest.

Political positions Abortion Niou has a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood for her support of abortion rights. She has voted to expand legal protections for abortion providers in New York

Criminal justice In 2019, Niou voted in favor of a criminal justice reform bill that prohibits the use of cash bail for misdemeanors and non-violent felonies, requires both defendants and prosecutors to share all evidence in their possession in advance of trials, and mandates all misdemeanor and felony cases in the state of New York to be resolved within 90 and 180 days, respectively. It passed both the State Assembly and Senate and was signed into law by New York's governor Andrew Cuomo in April 2019.

During a series of civil unrest triggered by the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Niou criticized the police for "escalating tensions or resorting to violence" and called for creating a culture of accountability and fairness within law enforcement. She supported efforts to defund the police in 2020, in order to redirect the funds toward social services, education, and housing. She has voted to expand red flag laws, require license for possession of a semi-automatic firearm, prohibit the sale of privately made firearms, and authorize the State of New York to sue gun manufactures for damage caused by their guns. She is in favor of banning assault rifles and assault weapons. and has been a supporter of the New York Health Act introduced by fellow assemblymember Richard N. Gottfried, which would establish a statewide single-payer health plan if passed.

In 2021, Niou co-introduced and cosponsored legislation to expand the practice of applied behavior analysis in New York State. It was signed into law on December 30, 2021 and took effect June 30, 2023. Niou has expressed doubts about proposals to allow for more dense housing, including affordable housing, in NoHo and SoHo.

Judiciary Niou supports expanding the Supreme Court of the United States and implementing term limits on Justices. In the wake of the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, she again advocated for expanding the court, citing concern over further erosion of constitutional rights to privacy with respect to intimate practices as established by Griswold v. Connecticut.

Environment Niou supports the Green New Deal. She has also indicated that any American tax dollars sent overseas should be subject to "transparency" and must never facilitate harm to civilians.

In July 2022, Niou said, "I do support BDS," referring to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. She clarified that she views BDS as a constitutionally protected form of protest rather than antisemitic, and opposes anti-BDS legislation on free speech grounds.

Personal life Niou is a cousin of Howard Wang, an American voice actor known for his roles in animated series and films. She is Christian and attends Redeemer Presbyterian Church. She is queer.