NYC’s Lander announces run for Congress with Mamdani’s endorsement

City comptroller to take on Rep. Dan Goldman for 10th District in Manhattan and Brooklyn; both candidates are Jewish, but are separated by their approach to Israel

NEW YORK — New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a Jewish ally of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, announced a run for Congress on Wednesday, as progressives in the city seek to build on the momentum of Mamdani’s election win.

Lander, the city comptroller, is running for the 10th Congressional District in lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn against US Rep. Dan Goldman for next year’s midterm elections.

Both candidates are Jewish Democrats who are in line on many issues, such as firm opposition to US President Donald Trump, although Lander is more outspoken in his criticism of Israel and marked by his partnership with the far-left, anti-Zionist Mamdani.

Lander ran for mayor, partnering with Mamdani during the primary and backing Mamdani in the general election. Lander’s endorsement of Mamdani drew fire from some Jews in city politics, who saw the move as giving cover to Mamdani for Jewish voters.

Goldman is a critic of Mamdani’s rhetoric on Israel, in line with the mainstream Jewish community, and did not make any endorsements in the mayoral race.

The comptroller is seen as the second-highest-ranking position in the city’s government, after the mayor, making Lander the highest Jewish elected official in the municipal government. Lander is a fixture in the city’s progressive politics, particularly for Jewish voters.

As comptroller, Lander, who identifies as a progressive Zionist, feuded with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a pro-Israel stalwart, including over city investments in Israel.

Like Mamdani, Lander has accused Israel of genocide, a charge that has not been substantiated by international courts and is seen as a libel against the Jewish state by many of Israel’s supporters. He has also accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and “forced starvation of Palestinians.”

His harsh criticism of Israel puts him more in line with the Democratic Party’s increasing antagonism toward Israel, according to polls, while Goldman is more aligned with the mainstream Jewish community.

Rumors had swirled for months over Lander’s relationship with Mamdani and Lander’s next step in politics.

That ended with his campaign announcement on Wednesday.

“At a moment of dark oppression, we can shine by fighting back together. While the oligarchy drives an affordability crisis, they shouldn’t be able to buy a seat in Congress,” Lander said in a campaign launch video. “While our immigrant neighbors are being demonized and attacked, we can put our bodies on the line to protect them.”

“I’m running for Congress because the challenges we face can’t be solved with strongly worded letters or high dollar fundraisers, and not by doing AIPAC’s bidding in a district that knows our safety, our freedom, our thriving is bound up together,” he said in the video, referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the only reference to Israel or Jewish issues in the video.

AIPAC has become a bête noire on both the far left and far right for its Israel advocacy, with some Jews saying the outsize focus on the group reflects age-old antisemitic canards.

The campaign video does not name Goldman, but AIPAC has contributed to him in the past.

Lander’s campaign said he had the endorsement of Mamdani, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and the progressive New York Working Families Party.

Lander will make his first campaign speech on Wednesday night at the Nitehawk Cinema in Brooklyn, his campaign said.

“I know it’s corny, but I love the idea that democracy is just neighbors working together to make our lives in common better,” Lander said in the campaign video.

“Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Won’t you be my neighbor?” he sang in the video, channeling the television personality Mister Rogers.

Lander is affiliated with leftist Jewish groups such as Jews for Economic and Racial Justice, which campaigned for Mamdani’s mayoral run. He has often protested with leftist Israelis in the city — a group that is not at home with either the mainstream Jewish community or the anti-Israel activist movement — for a Gaza ceasefire and against the Israeli government.

Goldman appeared at rallies for the Israeli hostages in Central Park and criticized Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

Lander’s campaign comes as progressives in the city attempt to build on Mamdani’s stunning political rise.

New York City Assemblywoman Amanda Septimo, a Mamdani ally who has supported Israel in the past, is reportedly planning a run against US Rep. Ritchie Torres, one of Israel’s leading defenders in Congress, for his seat in the Bronx.

Another contender for the seat, Michael Blake, attacked Torres for his ties to Israel and AIPAC in a campaign video, even though Blake had been affiliated with AIPAC for years before turning on the group.

There are at least nine contenders for Manhattan’s 12th District as incumbent Jewish US Rep. Jerrold Nadler retires. Some of the candidates have also made anti-Israel rhetoric central to their campaign pitches.

Other Mamdani surrogates are running on an anti-Israel platform for positions in the city government.

The incoming comptroller, Mark Levine, the presumed next City Council speaker, Julie Menin, and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch are all moderate Jews who will be able to serve as a check on Mamdani once he comes into office in January.

Goldman, a former federal prosecutor, narrowly won the 10th District in 2022 as his leftist challengers split the progressive vote, and early polls have shown Lander will present a significant challenge to Goldman’s reelection.

The district covers neighborhoods home to progressives, including Jews, such as Park Slope, Lander’s home base, as well as parts of the largely Orthodox Boro Park.

Lander’s Congressional run marks his first foray into national politics, after a long climb through New York City’s government. He started his career as a community organizer in Park Slope, served on the New York City Council for more than a decade, then became comptroller and ran for mayor, finishing third in the mayoral primary, after Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo.