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

Great Neck, New York Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kings Point, and Russell Gardens, and a number of unincorpo ...

. 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; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan comp ...

, 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 island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

. She is 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 Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbents and brought control of the New York Senate to the Democrats for only the third time since World War II. 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 Jew Persian Jews or Iranian Jews ( fa, یهودیان ایرانی, ''yahudiān-e-Irāni''; he, יהודים פרסים ''Yəhūdīm Parsīm'') are the descendants of Jews who were historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor s ...

ish family in

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and raised in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, where her father was a carpet dealer. When the

Islamic Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

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 Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Ralph Avenue to the east, and Empire Boulevard/East New Yo ...

, Anna was sent to live with a foster family in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 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 a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, and then to

. Kaplan attended the

Stern College The Stern College for Women (SCW) is the undergraduate women's college of arts and sciences of Yeshiva University. It is located at the university's Israel Henry Beren Campus in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan. The college provides progra ...

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

, and received her J.D. from

Cardozo School of Law The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the Law school in the United States, law school of Yeshiva University. Located in New York City and founded in 1976, the school is named for Supreme Court of the United States, Supreme Court Associate Just ...

in New York City.

Early political career

Kaplan started her political career as a member of the

North Hempstead North Hempstead is one of three towns in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 237,639 at the 2020 census. History The area was first settled by Europeans around 1643 and became part of the town of Hemps ...

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 New York 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, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for being vacated by retiring congressman

Steve Israel Steven J. Israel (born May 30, 1958) is an American political commentator, lobbyist, author, bookseller and former politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from New York from 2001 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was electe ...

. Kaplan was defeated in the 2016 New York Congressional Democratic Primary by former Nassau County Executive

Tom Suozzi Thomas Richard Suozzi (; born August 31, 1962) is an American politician, attorney and accountant who served as the U.S. Representative for from 2017 to 2023. His district included part of the North Shore of Long Island. A member of the Democr ...

. Suozzi went on to win 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 Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...

, 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 The Incorporated Village of Westbury is a village in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. It is located about east of Manhattan. The population was 15,404 at the 2020 census. History The firs ...

. 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 served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

. On November 6, 2018, Kaplan defeated incumbent Senator

Elaine Phillips Elaine Phillips is an American politician who currently serves as Nassau County Comptroller, with a term beginning in January 2022. She was elected to the position in a landslide victory, defeating Democrat Ryan Cronin 61%-39% to succeed retiring ...

and won election to the New York State Senate with 55% of the vote.

State Senate

Kaplan is Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business, and is 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 is 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'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

in a piece on first-time New York senators.

Personal life

Kaplan and her husband, Darren, live in

, and have two college-age daughters.

References

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