Lander Flays Incumbent Goldman in NY-10 Democratic Primary

In a crowded bar on the edge of the Gowanus section of Brooklyn, the roar went up not long after the polls closed at 9 p.m. on Tuesday June 23: Brad Lander had defeated incumbent Dan Goldman to win the New York’s bi-borough 10th Congressional District (NY-10) Democratic primary. While the triumph wasn’t surprising—recent polls had suggested Lander had a strong, even commanding, lead— the announcement was met with elation and even some tears.

The unofficial New York City Board of Election tally had Lander at 55,060 votes (65.81%), to Goldman’s 28,445 votes (34.00%). An additional 156 write-in votes were also counted.

Soon present for the triumph was Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Having entered the bar from a back entrance where a press area had been marked out, Hizzoner praised Lander as a colleague, friend and “a partner in New York. Brad brings a kindness to this work, a sincerity to this work, a vision of politics that is more than what we’ve seen for so long.”

While Mamdani had shed his Josh Hart jersey and Knicks-themed campaign T-shirt he’d recently worn, Lander—whose district claims former Knickerbocker Carmelo Anthony as a native son—wore a blue shirt complemented by an orange, blue and white striped tie. Lander thanked and embraced Hizzoner, pulled out his phone, and began “Let’s give it up for the New York Knicks, all right, to the Mayor who brought the first championship to New York in 53 years.”

“Our win tonight belongs to the streets, to the people who organized there, to people who never give up on their neighbors. It was my name on the ballot today but tonight’s victory belongs to all of you. The people here today, we’ve been organizing together for 30 years...”

Though Lander’s election party at Three’s Brewing spanned the ages, from still feisty anti-Vietnam War activists who got “Clean With Gene [McCarthy]” in 1968 to college-age Mamdani admirers, they were mostly white. In a district with two Chinatowns, and the nearly all Black and Hispanic Wyckoff Gardens NYCHA projects one avenue away, the demographics were glaring.

Indeed, until Public Advocate Jumaane Williams showed up, there appeared to be only two Black people in the room: one a bartender, and the other reporter Errol Louis on Spectrum News NY1. If this number changed by night’s end, it wasn’t by much.

It would be unfair to say this was Lander’s fault, however, as he campaigned everywhere. Rather, it reflects the engagement the machine-led Democratic Party has nurtured for decades. Take Red Hook Houses, Brooklyn’s largest NYCHA project with a population of around 7,000. In the two voting precincts which cover Red Hook Houses, with 90% of the votes counted, Dan Goldman won both: 16 to 11 in Precinct 51037; and 21 to 16 in Precinct 51038.

These are not typos. Out of 63 total votes, Goldman won 37, Lander 26. Meanwhile, both in affluent “Brownstone” neighborhoods like Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Park Slope and other, less vaunted districts, Lander was racking up votes by the hundreds, Goldman the dozens.

Similarly low turnout marked the Lower East Side’s NYCHA belt, from the Brooklyn Bridge through the East Village—which Goldman largely won. Yet, even with decent showings in FiDi, Tribeca, Soho and parts of the West Village, Goldman was drowning.

There are manifold reasons for this but more than anything, even without the Israel “wedge” issue, Lander, a consummate schmoozer, was better known and often better liked. While Goldman is quite affable in person, his public bearing is relatively stiff.

One who recognized Lander’s strengths and Goldman’s vulnerability early was City Reporter Senior Editor, Harry Siegel. As the founder of the FAQ NYC podcast and member of New York Editorial Board, Siegel has interviewed countless politicians and by mid-March, he was tipping Lander’s victory so surely, some observers wondered if was just being provocative.

The answer was no. A May 21, an Emerson College Polling/PIX 11 poll had Lander leading 56.6 percent to 23.1 percent, with 20.3 percent undecided. The Goldman campaign denied these figures, asserting the race was nearly even.

Goldman in The Mezzanine

If Goldman knew that he was doomed, he hid it fairly well, as a few hundred voters, staffers, and volunteers gathered inside the Mezzanine, a roomy, well-lit event space at 55 Broadway, near Wall Street. The diverse, if mostly youthful crowd enjoyed a catered buffet, serving both kosher and non-kosher options, and an open bar while awaiting the electoral results.

Publicly his supporters were cautiously confident that Goldman could triumph based on his decency, competence and establishment endorsements, including Governor Kathy Hochul, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal. Lander, meanwhile, had the backing of Mayor Mamdani—though not Mamdani’s own Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) party.

Indeed, Lander quit DSA in 2023, following the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel, which myriad DSA members cheered. Lander himself is a fierce critic of the Netanyahu government, but notes there is a difference between antisemitism and anti-Zionism.

This was shown, again, following a recent event in Brooklyn, where Dan Goldman was assailed by the owner of the Poetica Coffee chain, which has five Brooklyn locations and one in the East Village. Goldman had stopped at Poetica’s Williamsburg shop on Sunday June 22 so his daughter could use the restroom. Goldman also purchased a drink and afterwards the owner, Parviz Mukhamadkulov, wrote on Instagram, “Hey @repdangoldman, we see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee. Do you see how it doesn’t taste like genocide juice?” and blasted the incumbent with a barrage of slurs.

Lander condemned the Poetica affair, while Mamdani chose silence. Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, who expressed her support for DSA candidates, skipped the Lander watch party.

Consequently, many Goldman’s supporters at the watch party expressed their concerns with the rise of antisemitism and what they said was “Jew-hatred.”

At 9:30 p.m., when it was apparent that Goldman lost, his supporters gathered around the podium to listen to what the Congressman, who had his wife and children with him, had to say.

“Tonight, the voters of New York’s 10th Congressional District have spoken, and while this is certainly not the outcome I hoped for and worked so hard for, I respect their decision,” he began. Later, Goldman rallied for core “democratic values,” asserting the party “is at its strongest when it has welcomed a broad coalition of voices.”

After his speech, Goldman told reporters that Lander’s and the media’s use of Israel as wedge points were an unnecessary focal point during the race. “We have to be very careful not to turn this issue into a litmus test,” said Goldman. “What I am most concerned about is that it is clearly veering from opposition to what another government is doing into outright antisemitism... we do not conflate Donald Trump with the United States of America. The Israeli government is very similar.”

Strive to Be Human

Later that evening, Brad Lander issued a post-campaign statement. That he closed with a Hebrew saying from a Jewish wisdom book, “Pirkei Avot” (Ethics of Our Fathers), is notable for a man who might discover that, while decrying the Israeli government can help win a Democratic election, it might not be enough to win him DSA friends.

“When I launched this race, I said it wasn’t progressives versus moderates. It’s fighters versus folders. As we head into November, here are four lessons that I believe are worth fighting for. First: we have to fight, hard and visibly, against a system the American people have already concluded is rigged. Second: we have to focus, relentlessly, on delivering for working families — on housing, health care, child care, on jobs that pay enough to build a life. Third: we cannot compromise on anyone’s humanity. My fourth and final lesson: B’makom she’ein anashim, hishtadel l’hiyot ish. In a place where no one is acting human — strive to be human.”