Brad Lander ousts Dan Goldman in New York Democratic primary

Brad Lander won the Democratic nomination in New York’s 10th Congressional District, defeating two-term Rep. Dan Goldman in a primary that turned Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn into a fight over who best reflected the district’s politics. CBS News projected the result Tuesday night after early returns showed Lander building a lead that made the race hard to close.

The contest became one of New York City’s sharpest 2026 Democratic battles, with Gov. Kathy Hochul backing Goldman and Mayor Zohran Mamdani lining up behind Lander. That split gave the race the feel of a proxy war inside the city’s Democratic establishment, with Lander arguing that Goldman represented a more corporate wing of the party while pitching himself as the candidate better equipped to confront President Trump.

Lander, a former New York City comptroller and former City Council member, built his case around representation and local priorities in a district that stretches across Lower Manhattan and into Brooklyn. Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who served as lead counsel in Donald Trump’s first impeachment inquiry, leaned on a résumé built around law, oversight and national politics. The district’s compact geography, just about 15.3 square miles, and its population of roughly 757,254 have made it one of the city’s most intensely contested Democratic seats.

The result carried added weight because NY-10 has one of the nation’s largest Jewish populations and one of the highest shares of Jewish residents among House districts, making Israel and antisemitism central issues in the primary. Those tensions sharpened the contrast between the candidates and helped turn the race into a referendum on ideology as much as incumbency. Lander also benefited from Mamdani’s rising influence in New York City Democratic politics, with the mayor’s endorsements helping propel him and two other candidates in city congressional primaries.

By early election-night reporting, City & State showed Lander ahead 64 percent to 36 percent, a margin wide enough to clinch the nomination. The upset was notable because Goldman had first won the seat in 2022 and was re-elected in 2024, and because the district has remained safely Democratic since its current form took shape after redistricting. For Goldman, that made the loss more than a personal defeat: it was a sign that even in a deeply blue district, a well-funded incumbent could still be overtaken when a primary turns into a sharper argument over who the district wants to send to Washington.