Engel, Eliot L. (Eliot Lance), 1947-

Eliot Lance Engel (born February 18, 1947) is an American educator and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. representative from New York's 19th (1989-1993), 17th (1993-2013), and 16th (2013-2021) congressional districts.

Born in the Bronx, he attended New York City public schools before earning B.A. and M.A. degrees from Lehman College. Engel taught in the New York City School District and was a school counselor. In 1977, Engel entered the special election for a seat in the New York State Assembly as the Liberal Party nominee after incumbent Democrat Alan Hochberg was forced to resign, narrowly defeating Democrat Ted Weinstein. Engel was a member of the New York State Assembly until 1988, sitting in the 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th and 187th New York State Legislatures, the last five as a Democrat. He chaired the Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, as well as the Subcommittee on the Mitchell-Lama Housing Program.

In 1988, Engel ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York's 19th congressional district, defeating incumbent Mario Biaggi in both the Democratic primary and general election. A strong supporter of single payer healthcare, Engel supported quality access to health care, and refers to himself as pro-choice "all the way". He was one of the leading congressional supporters of Israel. Although he has supported resolutions critical of both Israelis and Palestinians, his criticisms of Israeli policies have usually been couched as warnings of their harm to Israel itself. In 2009, Engel was one of 53 members of Congress who signed a letter to President Barack Obama, urging the new president to resume enforcement of a ban on the import of foreign assault weapons (authorized by the Gun Control Act of 1968 and enforced during the administrations of George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton).

In 2020, Engel was challenged in the primary by Yonkers school principal Jamaal Bowman, who ran well to Engel's left. Bowman received a surprise endorsement from State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, Mario Biaggi's granddaughter. In a mid-June poll, he trailed Bowman by ten percentage points and, after the election, with early and election day votes counted, Bowman led Engel by almost 12,000 votes, 61.8% to 34.9%. Absentee ballots were scheduled to be counted on June 30, 2020, though some sources called the race for Bowman before the counting of absentee ballots. After the absentee ballots were counted, Bowman's lead was 55.4%-40.6%, or 13,218 votes. The race was called for Bowman on July 17, 2020, with the New York State Board of Elections certifying the results on August 6, 2020.