(The Center Square) — New York City Comptroller Brad Lander will run for New York’s 10th Congressional District, setting up a Democratic primary clash with incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman ahead of next year’s midterm election.
Lander, a longtime fixture in New York City Democratic politics, announced his congressional bid on Wednesday in a campaign video that stressed his progressive chops and criticized Goldman’s pro-Israel position, moderate political views, and wealthy background. He touted support for his campaign from Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who takes over City Hall next month.
“Our mayor can have an ally in Washington instead of an adversary in his own backyard,” Lander, 56, said in the video. “While the oligarchy drives the affordability crisis, they shouldn’t be able to buy a seat in Congress.”
Lander, who placed a distant third in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary earlier this year, will run with support from the left-leaning Working Families Party and Democratic progressive darlings like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Sen. Berine Sanders, who issued a statement Wednesday praising Lander as a “relentless fighter for working people.”
“He’s spent the past two decades taking on big corporations, winning better wages and fair working conditions for New Yorkers, including major victories for fast food workers, delivery workers, and tenants,” Sanders said. “He will deliver for the people of New York and all working class Americans.”
Lander, the city’s fiscal watchdog, has been a vocal opponent of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. In June, he was arrested outside a Manhattan immigration court while escorting immigrants from the building. The charges were dropped after Democratic Gov. Kathy Hocuhul intervened to demand his release.
Goldman, an attorney and Levi Strauss family heir, narrowly won New York’s 10th Congressional District in the 2022 elections after pumping nearly $5 million of his own money into the campaign. Prior to that, he served as a lead attorney for House Democrats during the first Trump impeachment.
His campaign put out a statement ahead of Lander’s announcement on Wednesday that touted Goldman’s progressive positions on major issues, including the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
“Dan is focused on stopping the Trump administration from what they’re doing to immigrant families in his district right now,” said Maddy Rosen, a spokesperson for the campaign. “He’s proud of his progressive record in Congress and will deal with Brad and other challengers in the new year.”
Alexa Avilés, a New York City Council member from Brooklyn and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is also considering jumping into the Democratic primary. Yuh-Line Niou, a former state assemblywoman who challenged Goldman in 2022, told reporters earlier this week that she won’t be running for the congressional seat again.
New York’s 10th district is one of several competitive races on the state’s ballot in next year’s midterm elections. Nine candidates are vying to replace outgoing Rep. Jerry Nadler, who is retiring after 17 terms representing New York’s 12th Congressional District. Meanwhile, Rep. Nydia Velázquez decision not to seek reelection next year is expected to spark a scramble to fill the 7th Congressional District.
