Goldman trails Lander by 5 points in supportive super PAC poll

When you Google “Brad Lander” these days, one of the first results, sponsored by Rep. Dan Goldman’s campaign, is a link titled “Can you trust Brad Lander - Ties to Palantir and ICE.” Goldman, facing what all parties agree is a very tough primary challenge from Lander in the congressional district spanning lower Manhattan and parts of brownstone Brooklyn, has sharpened his attacks, and his allies are readying to do so as well. 

Hosting a rally for Goldman on Monday, District Council 37 President Henry Garrido said Goldman “has been a consistent voice for strengthening collective bargaining rights. That's an important piece, folks – something that his opponent has forgotten to do.” 

With a long history on the Brooklyn side of the district and an endorsement from Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Lander is in a strong position. Strong enough to prompt Goldman to dump at least $1 million of his own personal wealth into the race to save his seat. So strong that a Goldman-aligned super PAC is exclusively sharing a poll with City & State finding that shows Lander in the lead – but with Goldman still able to change that by attacking.

The poll conducted between May 1 and 4 has Lander leading with 47% of likely voters, including people who are undecided but leaning toward Lander, compared to Goldman’s 42%. That lead falls within the poll’s 4.5-point margin of error. The poll of 465 Democratic primary voters was conducted by Schoen Cooperman Research for New Yorkers Fighting Back. That super PAC was formed by allies of Goldman, The New York Times first reported, but has so far reported just $10,500 in contributions, led by Greater New York Hospital Association executive Lee Perlman.

The pollster found that Goldman was able to move into the lead after voters were exposed to positive messaging about him and negative messaging about Lander. City & State reviewed the whole poll, but New Yorkers Fighting Back shared it on the condition that only part of it be made public. View the toplines here.

The Lander campaign said Goldman was engaging “a nasty, desperate, losing campaign to keep the seat he bought in the first place.”

“NY-10 voters know Brad from thirty years of working to protect tenants, build affordable housing, invest in public schools, and fight for immigrant neighbors,” Campaign spokesperson Emily Minster added. “We’ve seen incredible enthusiasm for Brad on the tens of thousands of doors we’ve knocked. Brad will keep showing up for his neighbors long after he wins the primary on June 23rd.”

Garrido and Lander have been crosswise on a controversial proposal to switch the city’s retirees to a Medicare Advantage plan (which Garrido supported and Lander opposed) and an audit Lander conducted of the use of the city’s Health Stabilization Fund which Garrido derided as “a political stunt.” Asked to clarify his comments, Garrido said he resented Lander for not investing pension funds into offshore wind. “We wanted to do green renewable energy, which we saw and heard Dan talk about,” Garrido said. “And instead of supporting a lot of us as trustees to continue to push offshore wind, we saw the Bureau of Asset Management, which is under his role, do the opposite.” (Lander’s campaign said he increased investments in climate solutions threefold.)

Goldman brought out the big guns Monday when Gov. Kathy Hochul briefly showed up to boost his campaign. “I admired him, how he was the lead reason that Donald Trump got impeached,” Hochul said, referring to Goldman’s role as chief counsel to the House Democrats’ impeachment process. She called Goldman “ferocious and courageous.”

Hochul endorsed Goldman shortly after he launched his reelection campaign in January. She hasn’t gotten involved in too many races this year as she herself runs for reelection. She’s also backing her former staffer Micah Lasher in the pricey and high-profile race for Manhattan’s 12th Congressional District.