NEW YORK – Representative Dan Goldman is facing a Democratic primary challenge in New York’s 10th congressional district from Brad Lander, a veteran organizer with years in city government. Goldman launched his re‑election bid on January 6, 2026, centering his pitch on his role leading the first impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump.
The contest is emerging as a test of how much of the Democratic message in 2026 is defined by opposition to Trump and how much rests on policy differences within the party, from civil liberties and market oversight to foreign affairs.
A primary framed by Trump – and policy rupture beneath it
Both Goldman and Lander identify as progressives and both are running against Trump. The race is also surfacing a broader Democratic divide described in recent debates: between those focused on preserving norms and institutions and those seeking to use the post‑Trump period to challenge concentrated wealth, the security state, and corporate influence across parties.
The 10th district, which includes parts of Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, has been a home for activist energy on policing, Wall Street regulation and the U.S. role abroad. For many voters, the primary is less about whether to oppose Trump than about what kind of Democrat should represent a safe blue seat in a narrowly divided House.
Surveillance and civil liberties on the House floor
Goldman’s civil‑liberties votes have drawn scrutiny from rights advocates and some Democrats, in part because they touch the core legal authorities that govern U.S. intelligence and domestic dissent.
– April 2024: He voted to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act without adding a warrant requirement for queries involving U.S. persons. Section 702, a post‑9/11 authority that permits warrantless collection of foreign communications, has long been criticized for incidental sweeps of Americans’ data. On the House floor, Goldman said, “requiring a warrant would render this program unusable and entirely worthless.” A bipartisan amendment co‑sponsored by Pramila Jayapal and Andy Biggs to add a warrant requirement failed 212-212, making Goldman’s vote decisive.
– November 21, 2024: He was one of 15 Democrats to vote for H.R. 9495, legislation allowing the executive branch to designate any nonprofit a “terrorist supporting organization” and revoke its tax‑exempt status with limited transparency and due process protections. The American Civil Liberties Union warned the bill grants the executive branch “extraordinary power to investigate, harass, and effectively dismantle any nonprofit organization,” including news outlets, universities and civil‑liberties groups.
The American Civil Liberties Union warned the bill grants the executive branch “extraordinary power to investigate, harass, and effectively dismantle any nonprofit organization,” including news outlets, universities and civil liberties groups.
To critics in the district, those votes raise questions about how Goldman would balance national‑security briefings and the pressure of future crises against constitutional protections if Democrats retain the White House – or if Trump returns to it.
Digital assets: three breaks with most Democrats
On cryptocurrency and financial technology, Goldman has voted with industry‑favored positions multiple times, diverging from most in his caucus and from the party’s traditional skepticism of lightly regulated markets.
– March 2025: Voted to nullify a Biden‑era rule aimed at preventing crypto from being used to evade tax laws, siding with Republicans who argued the regulation was stifling innovation.
– July 2025: Backed the Clarity Act, shifting significant oversight from the Securities and Exchange Commission, historically the lead cop on Wall Street, to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a move cheered by many crypto firms.
– July 2025: Voted for the Genius Act to establish a stablecoin framework that, according to critics, would make it easier for well‑funded actors to issue their own currencies with fewer investor‑protection guardrails.
Two senior Democrats criticized the package. Representative Maxine Waters said colleagues were making “it easier for Trump’s personal financial interests to dictate US policy.” Senator Elizabeth Warren’s office noted the stablecoin framework opened new loopholes for offshore issuers exploitable by terrorists, cartels and criminals.
For NY‑10, home to finance workers and tech entrepreneurs as well as renters struggling with inflation and housing costs, the crypto votes encapsulate a broader argument over whether Goldman’s approach to oversight is too accommodating to emerging asset classes that have already burned retail investors.
Capital markets and retirement plans
Goldman also voted for the Expanding Access to Capital Act, described by supporters as a way to broaden investment opportunities and by opponents as “the single largest deregulation of our capital markets in years.” The measure opened retirement plans for schools and nonprofits to riskier, less‑regulated securities. While promoted as expanding “access,” the bill was characterized in debate as benefiting a narrow slice of the asset‑management industry and exposing working‑class savers – including teachers, adjunct professors and nonprofit staff – to greater volatility inside plans they often cannot easily monitor or exit.
Taken together with his crypto record, the vote has allowed Lander’s allies to frame the race as a referendum on whether a deep‑blue district should send a member who is comfortable loosening investor protections at a moment of persistent market anxiety.
Foreign policy record: Israel, the ICC and Yemen
Goldman’s foreign‑policy positions have aligned him with Republicans and a smaller set of Democrats on several high‑profile votes that have reverberated across the district’s synagogues, mosques and campus quads:
– November 2023: Voted to censure Representative Rashida Tlaib over her criticism of Israel, siding with Republicans who argued her language crossed a line and against progressives who warned of chilling speech on the Israel‑Palestine conflict.
– February 2024: Backed a standalone $17.6 billion military aid package to Israel that 78% of Democrats opposed, after the Biden administration had urged Congress to keep Israel aid within a broader national‑security package.
– January 2025: Supported sanctions on the International Criminal Court; United Nations officials called the measure “a blatant violation of human rights” that strikes at “the core of judicial independence and the rule of law”.
– 118th Congress: Voted for a terrorism designation against the Houthis that the Biden administration had rejected, citing concerns it would impede humanitarian operations in Yemen and complicate shipping routes already under strain.
– Campus speech: In hearings tied to pro‑Palestine protests, Goldman condemned university presidents over their testimony, siding with Republicans in a politically charged session that helped trigger leadership changes at several elite institutions.
For pro‑Israel groups, Goldman’s record underscores his commitment to the U.S.-Israel security relationship and to confronting armed groups in the region. For younger, more left‑leaning voters, it has become a rallying point for demands that safe Democratic seats elevate lawmakers more willing to challenge U.S. military aid and defend international legal institutions.
What voters will decide in NY‑10
The record above has been cited by critics who argue that centering opposition to Trump is insufficient without confronting executive‑power expansion, market deregulation, and foreign‑policy decisions they oppose. They frame the primary as a choice between two Democrats who both see Trump as a threat, but who disagree over how far to push structural change inside the intelligence community, the financial system and U.S. alliances.
Supporters point to Goldman’s prominent anti‑Trump role, his experience on the House floor and his access to national‑security briefings, and say the stakes of 2026 justify his positions – even when they depart from most Democrats – if they believe those votes make another Trump term harder to navigate.
Procedurally, the Democratic primary in New York’s 10th congressional district will determine the party’s nominee, who is heavily favored in November. Substantively, the outcome will signal whether a safe New York seat rewards a politics organized primarily around restraining Trump, or one that more aggressively reshapes the powers and policies a future president – including Trump – would inherit.
