Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller, will announce on Wednesday that he will challenge Representative Daniel Goldman, setting up a contentious Democratic primary that will be a potent test of the progressive movement’s momentum.
Mr. Lander, who is backed by Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, hopes to capitalize on the left-leaning roots of the district, which overwhelmingly supported Mr. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, in November. Mr. Lander is also expected on Wednesday to announce the endorsements of Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont; the left-leaning Working Families Party; and Jumaane Williams, the city’s public advocate.
Mr. Goldman narrowly won the seat, which covers the southern part of Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, in a crowded primary in 2022. He has drawn praise for sharply questioning Trump administration officials, but his more moderate positions on Israel and the war in Gaza have angered left-leaning constituents.
Mr. Lander said in an interview that voters wanted an even stronger voice to oppose President Trump, to fight for immigrant rights and to help Mr. Mamdani in Washington.
“New Yorkers want Congress members who will step up and fight back against Trump and work with the mayor for a city that everyone can afford and where everyone is welcome,” he said. “Our mayor needs an ally in Washington, and not an adversary.”
Yet Mr. Lander planned to release a campaign video that cast him in a more gentle light, likening him to Fred Rogers from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” The nearly three-minute video makes use of animated birds flitting across the screen, and ends with Mr. Lander crooning: “Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Won’t you be my neighbor?”
He acknowledges in the video that some of his messaging could be viewed as corny. To provide a visual counter to the neighborly fist bump he exchanges with a store worker, a television in the background displays footage of his arrest by federal agents at a Manhattan immigration court while escorting immigrants from the building in June.
Mr. Mamdani said in a statement that Mr. Lander was a “true leader” who had “unwavering principles, deep knowledge and sincere empathy.”
“He has been a trusted ally and partner of mine and I’m proud to support him as I know he’ll continue delivering for those who need government to show up for them the most,” Mr. Mamdani said.
Mr. Goldman did not endorse Mr. Mamdani after he won the Democratic nomination, and he took issue with Mr. Mamdani’s views of Israel.
Maddy Rosen, a spokeswoman for Mr. Goldman’s campaign, said in a statement that the congressman was “focused on stopping the Trump administration from what they’re doing to immigrant families in his district right now.”
“He’s proud of his progressive record in Congress and will deal with Brad and other challengers in the new year,” she said.
Mr. Lander, who like Mr. Goldman is Jewish, has been a vociferous critic of Israel’s handling of the war. Many Democrats now share Mr. Lander’s concerns, and a New York Times/Siena poll showed that New Yorkers overall are now more likely to sympathize with Palestinians than with Israel.
Mr. Lander said in the interview that he and Mr. Goldman agreed that Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7 was a war crime, but that only Mr. Lander believed that attacks on civilians by Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, were also war crimes.
“That’s how most residents of the district feel,” he said.
The Democratic primary in the district, New York’s 10th, is one of several that could be competitive. In the 12th District in Manhattan, nine contenders are running to replace Representative Jerrold Nadler, who is retiring.
In the Bronx, Assemblywoman Amanda Septimo, a young ally of Mr. Mamdani’s, is planning to run against Representative Ritchie Torres, according to two people familiar with the matter. Ms. Septimo will join a field of challengers that includes Michael Blake, a former state assemblyman, and Dalourny Nemorin, a Legal Aid lawyer.
And Antonio Reynoso, the Brooklyn borough president, recently announced that he would run for a seat in Brooklyn and Queens being vacated by Representative Nydia M. Velázquez.
Last month, Mr. Mamdani discouraged another progressive challenger, Chi Ossé, an ally, from running against Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat. But his decision to endorse Mr. Lander demonstrates his willingness to confront the Democratic establishment.
Mr. Goldman, a former federal prosecutor and Levi Strauss heir, won his seat in 2022 by beating several progressive candidates who split the vote. Progressive leaders seem determined not to let that happen again.
Alexa Avilés, a City Council member from Brooklyn and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has weighed her own bid and received backing from the local chapter of the D.S.A., though that could change. Yuh-Line Niou, a former assemblywoman who was the runner-up to Mr. Goldman in 2022, said on Tuesday that she would not run again.
Mr. Lander, 56, said that it was important for progressive Democrats to unite behind one candidate and that he believed that he could bring voters together.
“I’ve put myself on the line, and I’ve been a team player,” he said. “People across the district know me.”
As a city councilman, Mr. Lander represented part of the House district in the Park Slope neighborhood from 2010 until 2021. He won a competitive race for comptroller in 2021 and finished third in this year’s mayoral primary. Mr. Lander drew attention toward the end of that race when he and Mr. Mamdani cross-endorsed each other in the hopes that either of them would finish ahead of former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
That partnership led Mr. Lander to believe that he would join Mr. Mamdani at City Hall as a top deputy mayor. But Mr. Mamdani decided not to hire him for a senior position and encouraged him to run for Mr. Goldman’s seat.
His campaign video does not mention Mr. Goldman by name, but said that Mr. Lander would not do “AIPAC’s bidding,” a reference to the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group, which has been a major donor to Mr. Goldman. He also says in the video that “the oligarchy” should not be able to “buy a seat in Congress” — a reference to Mr. Goldman’s wealthy supporters and the nearly $5 million of his own money the congressman pumped into his previous race.
Mr. Goldman, 49, appeared on Monday at a news conference outside 26 Federal Plaza, the federal building where Mr. Lander was arrested, and called for legislation to stop the arrest of immigrants at routine court hearings.
But Mr. Lander argued that Mr. Goldman had been too meek when “we’re facing a five-alarm fire for our democracy.”
“Voters want someone who will fight like our lives are on the line, because they are,” Mr. Lander said.
Benjamin Oreskes contributed reporting.
Emma G. Fitzsimmons is the City Hall bureau chief for The Times, covering Mayor Eric Adams and his administration.
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