NY-1 hosted this debate between the two leading candidates for the hotly contested Democratic primary in New York’s 10th Congressional District, which includes parts of Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, stretching from the West Village to the East Village, and parts of Brooklyn Heights, Red Hook, Park Slope, and Sunset Park. Daniel Goldman is the incumbent, serving since 2023. He is a former federal prosecutor who worked as the lead counsel for House Democrats in the first impeachment trial of President Trump. His challenger is Brad Lander, a former city controller and 2025 mayoral candidate who also served for 12 years on the City Council. The primary election is scheduled for June 23rd, with early voting beginning on June 13th.

The candidates’ opening statements: Brad Lander: “Our neighbors in New York 10 care about democracy and about each other. And it has been my honor to work alongside you, shoulder to shoulder, for 30 years to prevent evictions of seniors and families, to build thousands of affordable homes, to protect our retirees’ health care. Now our values are under existential assault. Trump is abducting our neighbors and corrupting our government, while the cost of living skyrockets and the gap between the rich and the rest of us has never been greater. But meanwhile, corporate Democrats like Dan Goldman, instead of taking on special interests, take money from them – from Wall Street, crypto, and AIPAC. New York 10 voters want leaders who fight billionaires and deliver for working families, who put their bodies on the line to protect our immigrant neighbors. That’s why I’m proud to be endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, the Working Families Party, and why it would be an honor to serve you in Congress.” Daniel Goldman: “These are serious times with serious challenges, and this is not a moment for career politicians desperately seeking another job. We have a fascist in the White House pulling strings, with the secret police abducting our neighbors and a system rigged by his billionaire buddies. My life’s work has prepared me for this exact moment. I prosecuted Wall Street cheats and mob bosses. I impeached Donald Trump. And for the last three and a half years, it has been my honor and privilege to represent New York’s 10th Congressional District. I’m not only a fighter. I am a fighter who knows how to win. And when we take back the majority, I will once again beat Donald Trump. And we will move forward with a bold progressive agenda that will make billionaires pay their fair share so that working families can get access once again to the American dream, with universal health care, free child care, and affordable housing for all. I humbly ask for your vote, and of course, let’s go Knicks.”

They discuss where they differ on several key issues, including foreign policy, especially Israel, immigration enforcement and the role of ICE, affordable housing, taxing the wealthy, and their vision for the future of the Democratic Party. *** The two candidates, both Jewish men in a district that is up to 20% Jewish, spend the first 15 minutes of the debate on Israel. Both candidates are self-described liberal Zionists who support Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, while also supporting Palestinian self-determination and a two-state solution, but they have differences on things like conditioning military aid, AIPAC, and supporting West Bank settlements. “I strongly oppose this government of Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Goldman said. “What is going on in the West Bank that is being led by Smotrich is absolutely unacceptable.” “I have been a leader on that from the beginning. I have, in Congress, in opposing the settlements, in opposing the expansion of the violence. And I will continue to lead in that so that Palestinians have human rights, self-determination, and there can be peace and security in the region,” Goldman said. “We have some profound differences here,” Lander said. “Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, violating international law, violating Palestinian human rights, I believe we should not be sending additional U.S. military aid to Israel.” “Representative Goldman has voted for every standalone aid package to Israel, for all the 2,000-pound bombs that destroyed all of the hospitals and schools and most of the homes in Gaza, where Netanyahu and the IDF now occupy 70% of the territory.” “So no, I won’t send any additional U.S. military aid to Israel,” he said. “I view what’s happening there as a genocide. I’ve been fighting against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza since 1990. I’ve never heard him say the word ‘occupation’ in that context.” “What has happened in Gaza is horrific and that there needs to be Palestinian self-determination,” Goldman said. “But this is not the way. And the reason this is not the way is because the BDS movement, first of all, was founded on the premise that Israel should not exist.” “I don’t support the global BDS movement, and I would have voted no on the resolution. But to me, the answer is to end U.S. complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, in the apartheid that is imposed on Palestinians,” Lander said. “Israelis will not be safe until Palestinians are free.” “We don’t need new laws. We need Donald Trump to enforce the laws that we have, as President Biden did,” said Goldman, adding to the moderators: “And with all due respect, we’re now 10 minutes into this and we’ve only spoken about Israel. Israel is not the most important issue in this district. What is most important that I hear from the voters is Donald Trump in the White House, tearing our immigrant neighbors away, destroying our democracy, corrupting everything from the White House, and taking away health care, food benefits.” “He answered none of your questions,” Lander said about Goldman.
RealClearPolitics Videos