VoterLens
New York State Assembly District 65
Sun Yat-sen University—Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering; University of Illinois Chicago—Master's in Electrical Engineering; Harvard University—Master's in Chinese Religion and Philosophy; Columbia University—Master's in Chinese Religion and Philosophy
Data last updated 10/19/2026
Helen Qiu is running as a Republican for New York State Assembly District 65 in the 2026 general election. She currently works as an adjunct professor at Manhattan College and previously worked as an engineer and engineering executive at high-tech semiconductor companies in Silicon Valley. She also established Mamre Christian Church, an online congregation, and has described her background as spanning engineering, education, and pastoring.
Committee Assignments: No committee assignments available.
Helen Qiu, Republican candidate for New York State Assembly District 65, states that healthcare should include affordable care for New Yorkers and stronger treatment responses for mental illness and drug addiction. She also opposes COVID-19 vaccine mandates, supports medical and religious exemptions, and says vaccines should be recommended rather than mandated.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Qiu opposes COVID-19 vaccine mandates and supports medical and religious exemptions, stating that vaccines should be recommended rather than required.
SourceQiu says people struggling with mental illness and drug addiction should receive immediate help in safe, controlled environments where they can get treatment and no longer pose a danger to themselves or the public.
SourceHelen Qiu emphasizes a fiscally conservative Economy & Jobs agenda for New York State Assembly District 65, calling for lower government costs, less bureaucracy, fiscal accountability, and cost-of-living relief. Her campaign materials also link local economic recovery to reopening Park Row, reducing costly mandates, and creating work/housing pathways for homeless or formerly incarcerated New Yorkers.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Qiu supports reducing government costs and bureaucracy, increasing fiscal accountability, and providing cost-of-living relief to New Yorkers.
SourceQiu argues that runaway government spending contributes to higher taxes, higher prices, and inflation, and says New York needs fiscal discipline and a leaner government.
SourceQiu's prior campaign platform was reported as supporting lower taxes and ending vaccine mandates, including rehiring workers fired because of them.
SourceHelen Qiu describes herself as pro-immigration and supportive of legal immigration, while opposing New York City sanctuary-city policies and public spending for undocumented migrants/non-citizens. She frames her immigration position around prioritizing law-abiding taxpayers and legal immigrants, and ending what she describes as rewards or subsidies for illegal immigration.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Qiu states that New York City must stop serving as a sanctuary city for non-U.S. citizens because she says it drains billions of dollars annually.
SourceQiu says legal immigration should be honored and that government should restore fairness by prioritizing law-abiding, taxpaying New Yorkers rather than rewarding illegal immigration.
SourceA local candidate profile reported that Qiu's listed policies included ending the Sanctuary City law while she was a Lower Manhattan Republican candidate who had also run for State Assembly.
SourceA profile of Qiu's 2024 Assembly District 65 campaign reported that she publicly denounced sheltering a large influx of illegal migrants in District 65 locations such as the Hanbee Hotel.
SourceHelen Qiu supports expanding Lower Manhattan green space, including pocket parks, tree cover, and community-designed green zones. She opposes NYC Local Laws 157 and 97, arguing they impose excessive costs on residents, landlords, co-op/condo owners, and building owners despite environmental or safety goals.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Qiu says Lower Manhattan needs more green spaces and that she would push for pocket parks, expanded tree cover, and community-designed green zones.
SourceQiu says she is against Local Law 157 because she believes it unfairly imposes high gas-detector costs on residents and landlords.
SourceQiu states that she will work to repeal Local Laws 157 and 97, calling them unnecessary and costly mandates.
SourceQiu says Local Law 97 creates costly retrofit burdens and emissions penalties for Lower Manhattan building owners and residents, and says she would fight to reform the law so environmental goals do not bankrupt New Yorkers.
SourceHelen Qiu supports a back-to-basics education platform for New York State Assembly District 65, emphasizing reading, writing, math, science, teacher and principal accountability, and opposition to Critical Race Theory and gender ideology in classrooms. She also supports requiring practical financial literacy instruction so students graduate able to manage money, avoid debt, and build financial security.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Qiu states that schools should focus on reading, writing, math, and science, remove politics from the classroom, and increase accountability for teachers and principals.
SourceQiu plans to require students to complete practical financial literacy instruction focused on managing money, avoiding debt, and building a secure future.
SourceHelen Qiu, the Republican candidate for New York State Assembly District 65 in 2026, emphasizes public safety through stronger policing, changes to bail policy for repeat violent offenders, and regulation of e-bikes/e-scooters. She supports fully funding the NYPD, protecting qualified immunity, allowing judges to detain or closely supervise people with serious felony histories before trial, and passing Priscilla’s Law.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Qiu says she would fight to fully fund the NYPD, protect qualified immunity, recruit more officers, and ensure officers can do their jobs without fear of lawsuits.
SourceQiu supports Priscilla’s Law to require e-bikes and e-scooters to be registered with license plates and backs a 15 mph speed limit with strong enforcement.
SourceQiu supports Penny’s Law to hold negligent dog owners accountable, criminalize fleeing the scene of an animal attack, and increase penalties for repeat leash-law violations.
SourceBranch
https://www.branch.vote/races/2026-new-york-general-election-ny-state-state-representative-ny-state-house-65/candidates/helen-qiuFetched: biography
Columbia University - East Asian Languages and Cultures
https://www1.columbia.edu/cu/ealac/student_profiles.htmlFetched: education, biography
Election.org / Open States current officeholder record
https://election.org/state/new-york/legislature/lower/district-65Fetched: votingRecord
Transparency USA
https://www.transparencyusa.org/ny/race/new-york-state-assembly-district-65-74621Fetched: campaignFinance
NYC Votes
https://www.nycvotes.org/whats-on-the-ballot/2026-general-election-voter-guide/member-of-the-assembly/profile/?bannerTitle=Helen+J+Qiu&boroughCode=&candidateId=V883&districtID=&electionCycle=2026&geoAreaAbbr=65&officeType=7&officelevel=2&partyId=RFetched: votingRecord
New York Young Republican Club
https://nyyrc.com/endorsements/endorsement-helen-qiu-for-new-york-state-assembly-ad-65/Fetched: endorsements
Blue Voter Guide
https://bluevoterguide.org/district/NY/New_York_State_Assembly_District_65/51916/830Fetched: endorsements
NYC Votes
https://www.nycvotes.org/whats-on-the-ballot/2026-general-election-voter-guide-nyc-votes/member-of-the-assembly/profile/?bannerTitle=Helen+J+Qiu&boroughCode=&candidateId=V883&districtID=&electionCycle=2026&geoAreaAbbr=65&officeType=7&officelevel=2&partyId=RFetched: endorsements
Branch
https://www.branch.vote/races/2026-new-york-general-election-ny-state-state-representative-ny-state-house-65Fetched: issuePositions
Gotham Gazette
https://www.gothamgazette.com/city/12010-lower-manhattan-city-council-member-marte-democratic-primaryFetched: issuePositions
Tribeca Citizen
https://tribecacitizen.com/2023/11/06/icymi-election-day-is-tomorrow/Fetched: issuePositions
Jake Novak Substack
https://jakenovak.substack.com/p/helen-qiu-and-the-asian-jewish-coalitionFetched: issuePositions
Branch candidate profile
https://www.branch.vote/races/2026-new-york-general-election-ny-state-state-representative-ny-state-house-65/candidates/helen-qiuFetched: issuePositions
Branch candidate profile for Helen Qiu, New York Assembly District 65
https://www.branch.vote/races/2026-new-york-general-election-ny-state-state-representative-ny-state-house-65/candidates/helen-qiuFetched: issuePositions