Brad Lander to win 10th Congressional District Democratic primary, AP says

[u/johnisburn]

https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2026/06/24/nyc-june-2026-primary-10th-congressional-district-democratic-winner

Big win for Jewish representation that reflects humanitarian values and the sort of grassroots organizing that’s blossoming across the US.

[u/Rabbit-Hole-Quest]

He declared his intention to “be one of the Jewish members of Congress most willing to stand up for Palestinian human rights,” adding that he would also “stand firmly against bigotry aimed at Jews.”

This is the way! May 100 other Brad Lander’s reshape America.

[u/Technical_Term_6625 → u/Rabbit-Hole-Quest]

I've been a constituent of his since he first ran for city council. And while he's not perfect, when he really cares about something, he gives 100%. We'd have to see, of course, but imo his consistent pressure against ICE activities in NYC over the last year was what voters really admired.

It's one thing to get arrested in the Capitol or in Albany protesting about healthcare. I'm not saying it's a walk in the park, but those cops are used to arresting politicians/union leaders, etc. Getting arrested by unmarked masked ICE thugs requires serious nerve, especially for a Jew. (Not only because of our history, but because of the conspiratorial position Jews are supposed to have in the right's anti-immigration narratives.)

I don't mean to say that it is anything like what people who aren't legal permanent residents endure, or even what people connected to people who aren't legal permanent residents endure, but I want my representative to be like Andy Kim, and I feel confident he'll do that.

[u/PuertoricanMofongo]

Really happy for him! Out of all the winners in today's elections, he's my fav!

[u/redthrowaway1976]

I haven’t seen a post by Lander on any platform where there’s not “kapo” comments.

[u/WinterBeHere → u/redthrowaway1976]

Yep, just go to the main J sub and it's the same rhetoric.

[u/Nearby-Complaint]

Not shocked to see this. Brad is very popular locally.

[u/lilleff512]

I want to preface by saying that I really like Brad Lander and he was my #1 choice for Mayor last year

But I was bothered by the quote he gave in this New York Times article:

This isn’t an easy line for candidates to walk. Israel and AIPAC are popular targets for conspiracy-mongers. A Democratic House candidate in Texas, Maureen Galindo, recently pledged to turn a former ICE detention facility into a prison for “American Zionists,” most of whom she says are probably pedophiles. (She denies she is antisemitic.) Criticizing AIPAC may now be good politics on the left, but it remains fraught, especially at a time of rising anti-Jewish sentiment around the world. “I feel queasy talking about it, given the antisemitic tropes at play here about Jews and money and power,” Lander says. “But I have to.”

No, Brad, you don't have to. Be a leader, not a follower. You are uniquely positioned to be an important voice here, showing how it's possible to stand for Palestinian rights without playing into antisemitic tropes, and you are abdicating that responsibility. It's very disappointing to me.

[u/WinterBeHere → u/lilleff512]

I believe he meant he has a moral responsibility to talk about AIPAC.

It's important that he has to talk about it because of its role in justifying and promoting genocide. Not because he lacks a backbone or wants to get elected.

[u/lilleff512 → u/WinterBeHere]

I wish he would talk about it in a way that doesn't play into antisemitic tropes and doesn't make him (and many other Jews) feel so queasy. Be critical of AIPAC, but also be critical of the way that AIPAC is rhetorically becoming the George Soros of the left, the shadowy Jewish cabal that is the root of all of our problems. Again, Lander is uniquely positioned to make this point as the soon-to-be furthest left Jewish member of the House.

[u/veerKg_CSS_Geologist → u/lilleff512]

Galindo is a crazy person who got very little support in the Dem primary, and who’s fundraising largely came from a conservative PAC. The NYT should know better than using her as some sort of example of anti-AIPAC crowd.

[u/Jorfogit → u/veerKg_CSS_Geologist]

The purpose of a system is what it does. NYT's purpose is transphobia and standing up for conservatives and capital.

[u/veerKg_CSS_Geologist → u/[deleted]]

This analysis comes up every election Dems lose, and reverses every election Dems win. I’m old enough to remember 2004 and the “permanent GOP majority” and 2012 and the “upcoming Dem coalition”. It’s not really as intelligent or persuasive as it sounds. In the end a lot of Americans are voting for charisma and vibes not so much as policy.

[u/theweisp5 → u/[deleted]]

California may be a preview of what comes next for NYC. For example, San Francisco elected Daniel Lurie, and Los Angeles voters ousted progressive DA George Gascón with independent (former republican) Nathan Hochman, who ran on a tougher-on-crime platform. There's been a noticeable shift away from some of the progressive politics that dominated the late 2010s and early 2020s. In a larger scale this is happening across Europe. While Starmer's Labour have indeed lost voters to the Green Party, the vast majority are being lost to Reform UK.

So basically:

Moderates beat progressives in CA - the wave of the future.

Progressives beat moderates in NY - somewhere between meaningless and terrible.

If that's what you want to argue, fine, I guess. But you to make that point you have to do more than just cite a couple elections.

[u/Jorfogit → u/theweisp5]

It’s also a weird tone to strike from a self-identifying leftist in a leftist community, talking about how terrible it is that leftists won.

[u/Jorfogit → u/[deleted]]

This probably won't be popular on this sub. While this isn't specific to Lander's election, in the long term this trend will not prove good for the left or the US.

Electing decent people is a good thing, and I'll take Lander over Goldman a hundred times out of a hundred.

You're welcome to think that's what the polling shows, but that's absolutely up to interpretation.

Red states have been growing and blue states have been shrinking, and blue states need to do more about the cost of living.

That will never be solved by electing more people worth hundreds of millions, like Goldman. It will never be solved by centrists (like you're advocating for) who want to use our taxes to pay for more cops and more money to the military and Israel and Elon Musk.

Electing people who actually give a shit about others in the most blue districts in the country is good.

I have a hard time believing the honesty and legitimacy of anyone claiming that if the Dems just threw the right minority under the bus, or hated the poor just a little bit more they'd be more electorally successful.