Alexa Avilés exploring challenge to Rep. Dan Goldman in NY-10

New York City Council Member Alexa Avilés is exploring a potential primary challenge against Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th Congressional District, four people familiar with her plans told City & State.

Avilés is currently working to secure the support of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, according to a DSA member, who said Avilés would likely only run if she receives the organization’s endorsement. NYC-DSA’s Electoral Working Group has scheduled an initial endorsement forum next Wednesday to give Avilés a chance to make a case for her candidacy. Avilés declined to comment on her plans.

Avilés is an active DSA member and one of the group’s two “socialists in office” on the City Council (alongside Council Member Tiffany Cabán). The DSA backed Avilés’ initial City Council campaign in 2021 as well as her reelection campaigns in 2023 and 2025. And the socialist organization has made no secret of its opposition to Goldman.

“Dan Goldman is out of touch with his district and the needs of working people in NYC,” said Grace Mausser, co-chair of NYC-DSA. “Since he was elected, constituents have seen the cost of living skyrocket as more people are being priced out of their homes. Furthermore, his cowardice in the face of Israel’s genocide in Gaza is utterly unacceptable.  People have the right to question their leadership at this time more than ever.”

“Our members haven’t made any decisions about 2026 races,” she added. “We’re only now beginning our robust democratic process for electoral endorsements and we're focused on getting our city-level candidates over the finish line.”

Avilés currently represents City Council District 38 in Brooklyn, which snakes from Red Hook through Sunset Park and into Dyker Heights and parts of Bensonhurst. It lies largely within the 10th Congressional District, which stretches from Manhattan’s Greenwich Village to Sunset Park.

Goldman has represented the 10th Congressional District since 2022, when he beat former Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou by 2 points to win the open seat over a crowded field of candidates. Goldman is a relative moderate and a staunch supporter of Israel who has so far declined to endorse Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani. 

Progressives see Goldman as uniquely vulnerable to a primary challenge from the left. Last year, he won his Democratic primary with just under 65% of the vote against two no-name opponents. And in June, Democrats in his district voted for Mamdani over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo by a more than 2-1 margin in the final round of the ranked-choice primary.

Those hoping to unseat Goldman will need to avoid a repeat of 2022, when multiple progressive candidates – including Niou, former Rep. Mondaire Jones and City Council Member Carlina Rivera – split the progressive vote.

“Any challenge to a sitting incumbent needs to be a unified challenge,” said Ana María Archila, co-executive director of the progressive Working Families Party. “We would definitely want to make sure there is no splitting of the progressive vote.”

Archila said WFP, which backed Niou in the 2022 congressional primary, has not yet decided whether they will support a primary challenge against Goldman next year.

“In the next 2 months, we will really decide which fights we take on and with what purpose,” Archila said. “We know that there is a lot of interest in this district. There’s deep frustration with Dan Goldman, and this is one of the parts of the city that has one of the highest concentrations of WFP voters. We share people’s frustrations with Goldman.”

Avilés is not the only progressive candidate eyeing the district. Niou has also been preparing for a possible rematch against Goldman, according to people familiar with her thinking, though Avilés’ interest in running could change her calculus. Cameron Kasky, a progressive activist and school shooting survivor, had also planned to challenge Goldman, after previously flirting with a run for the 12th Congressional District in Manhattan.

Then there’s New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. In the aftermath of his failed mayoral run, many of his supporters have encouraged him to run against Goldman. But Lander is also widely expected to receive a top position in a future Mamdani mayoral administration, which would take him out of the running for the 10th Congressional District.

Avilés could make for a formidable opponent against Goldman, especially with the full weight of NYC-DSA behind her. Earlier this year, she faced a competitive primary challenge from a conservative candidate backed by significant PAC spending and beat them by more than 43 points.

But Goldman has two key advantages of his own: money and incumbency. An heir to the Levi’s denim fortune, Goldman has an estimated net worth of around $250 million. In a race against a DSA-backed primary opponent, he could likely count on support from deep-pocketed pro-Israel groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Democratic Majority for Israel, as well as high-profile endorsements from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and others in the state’s congressional delegation.

Simone Kanter, a spokesperson for Goldman, said the representative was currently observing Yom Kippur and could not be reached for comment.