Dan Goldman, the former federal prosecutor and Trump impeachment lawyer who flooded the Democratic race for New York’s 10th Congressional District with his own cash, was declared the winner of the primary early Wednesday morning.
The Associated Press called the chaotic race at 12:39 a.m., about two hours after Goldman declared victory at his election night party. He scored about 26% of the vote in a sprawling field, according to incomplete Board of Elections data.
Goldman, 46, presented himself as a guardian of democracy and the rule of law on his path to victory in the newly drawn district, which covers lower Manhattan and sections of brownstone Brooklyn.
“It is quite clear from the way that the results that have come in that we have won,” Goldman told jubilant supporters in Soho around 10:30 p.m on Tuesday.
Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, of the Financial District, fell narrowly to Goldman, receiving around 24% of the vote, according to the incomplete Elections Board data.
Rep. Mondaire Jones, who moved to Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, after he was drawn out of his suburban district, notched roughly 18% of the vote, according to the partial returns. City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, of Manhattan’s Kips Bay, picked up around 17%.
“I want to say a deep and heartfelt thank you to the other candidates in this race,” Goldman said in his victory speech Tuesday night. “I hope to learn from all of them as we continue to together achieve a better and brighter future for our city.”
Though the Washington-raised heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune lacked the local roots and legislative histories of some his rivals, he prevailed on the strength of his anti-Trump pitch and a campaign he spent millions on.
In a surprise to observers, The New York Times editorial board — immensely influential in the district — endorsed Goldman, blowing wind into his sails as Primary Day approached.
A mock endorsement from former President Donald Trump four days later may have reaffirmed a sense in some voters’ eyes that Goldman was the man for the moment.
Trump, who has been laying the groundwork for an early launch to a 2024 White House run, said on his Truth Social platform last week that Goldman is “honorable, fair, and highly intelligent.” Goldman said Trump was trying to meddle in the election with a fake endorsement of a nemesis.
A resident of Tribeca, Goldman escaped a turbulent race unleashed by this year’s frenzied court-ordered redistricting. At one point, more than a dozen contenders were vying for the seat.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio joined the contest, only quitting when polls showed him flailing.
Niou and Rivera staged scrappy campaigns on smaller budgets, keeping the race competitive down the stretch, and the well-funded Jones, a first-term congressman, appealed to many voters with his brief congressional track record.
Goldman, a first-time candidate, stood out from the field by peddling a more moderate platform. He expressed opposition to expanding the conservative Supreme Court, and dismissed Medicare for All as a pipe dream.
He waffled on whether he would support a law banning abortions after the point of fetal viability, before settling on a position that government should have no role in preventing abortions.
His more progressive rivals ripped into him in the final days of his campaign, presenting him as out of touch with the district and arguing that he was attempting to buy the seat.
Jones convened a news conference with Niou, ripping into Goldman for his spending. Rivera and former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman held one of their own, questioning his commitment to protecting reproductive rights.
But in the end, voters in the diverse district sided with Goldman over his opponents.
His victory all but assures him a place in the House representing the deep-blue district; he is set to face the Republican nominee, Benine Hamdan, in November.
“I want to serve the people of this district and this country,” Goldman said at his Park Slope field office this month. “I have spent my career fighting to level the playing field and to give everybody an equal opportunity to succeed.”
