[ But there was good news for the left, as state senate incumbents
beat back moderate challengers and a Democrat wins a special election
in the Hudson Valley.]
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NEW YORK PROGRESSIVES SPLINTER, AND DAN GOLDMAN IS HEADED TO CONGRESS
 
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Joan Walsh
August 24, 2022
The Nation
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_ But there was good news for the left, as state senate incumbents
beat back moderate challengers and a Democrat wins a special election
in the Hudson Valley. _

Attorney Dan Goldman stands with members of his family and supporters
during an address on the evening of the Democratic primary election
Tuesday, August 23, 2022, in New York., Craig Ruttle / AP Photo // The
Nation

 

Money can’t buy you love, but it might help you cadge a
congressional seat.

Levi-Strauss heir and Democratic attorney Daniel Goldman is narrowly
leading in the race for the open seat in New York’s 10th
Congressional District, after putting in nearly $5 million of his own
money. Meanwhile, three leading progressives split the vote on the
left, leaving New York Assembly member Yuh-Line Niou, the strongest of
the three, trailing Goldman by 1.5 percent just before midnight on
Tuesday, though Goldman claimed victory before all the votes were
counted. With 98 percent of the vote in, the top three
progressives—behind Niou were Representative Mondaire Jones and City
Council member Carlina Rivera—had won around 28,000 votes to
Goldman’s 16,700. The Associated Press and other news outlets called
the race for Goldman early Wednesday night; with absentee ballots yet
to be counted, Niou has not conceded.

Had Jones, bigfooted out of his district by Democratic power brokers,
stayed where he was, some things are almost certain: Niou would be
going to Congress; Jones would have had a better shot at keeping his
seat; and New York progressives might be sending two young leaders to
Washington, instead of none (barring an absentee ballot miracle for
Niou).

Progressives notched at least one win: in New York’s 12th district,
where Representative Jerry Nadler, endorsed by the Working Families
Party along with Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, defeated
longtime colleague Carolyn Maloney after they were both thrown into
one newly drawn district. Unlike Jones, Nadler resisted pressure to
leave his district—Carolyn Maloney backers wanted him to move into
the open 10th district. The longtime Upper West Sider told the crowd
at his victory party he wouldn’t move: “This place is my home. I
love the people of this community and what they represent.”

...Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, the guy who pushed Jones out
of his suburban New York district, easily beat back a challenge from
progressive state Senator Alexandria Biaggi. As the head of the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Maloney was criticized
for using his clout to muscle the gay, Black progressive Jones out of
his home district. But it worked out for him.

Maybe the best news came in a special election for New York’s purple
19th district, where Antonio Delgado’s ascension to lieutenant
governor nominee created an opening. Democrat Pat Ryan beat back
conservative Republican Marc Molinaro, in a race in which Ryan
centered abortion rights after the Dobbs decision. It’s not a
long-term victory; Ryan has to run again in November, in an adjacent
district with different lines. But at a time when Democrats are
looking for signs they can avoid a midterm blowout, Ryan’s solid
victory was a happy harbinger. The Working Families Party also backed
Ryan. “We’re proud that the WFP ballot line served as the margin
of victory in the NY-19 special election,” the party’s New York
director, Sochie Nnaemeka, said in a statement. “Pat Ryan’s
victory is a major win for working families in the district and builds
momentum heading into the general election in the redrawn NY-18.”

And in state Senate seats, progressive incumbents beat back challenges
from centrists. Brooklyn Senator Jabari Brisport walloped a challenger
backed by Mayor Eric Adams. Bronx Senator Gustavo Rivera beat a
centrist, and DSA member Kristen Gonzalez beat establishment favorite
Elizabeth Crowley for an open Senate seat. All three had WFP backing.

It seemed on-brand for the wealthy Goldman, an attorney for House
Democrats during the first Trump impeachment, to claim victory before
all the votes were counted. The nearly $5 million of his own money he
invested let him spend an astonishing $3.91 million on slick
television ads. Asked by reporters what it meant to put his private
millions into a public race, Goldman waxed philanthropic, claiming he
did it all for the 10th district’s voters.

It seemed on-brand for the wealthy Goldman, an attorney for House
Democrats during the first Trump impeachment, to claim victory before
all the votes were counted. The nearly $5 million of his own money he
invested let him spend an astonishing $3.91 million on slick
television ads. Asked by reporters what it meant to put his private
millions into a public race, Goldman waxed philanthropic, claiming he
did it all for the 10th district’s voters.

“I had a decision to make in a short race, which is whether I’m
going to spend more time talking to donors or voters,” Goldman said.
“I put my own money in so that I could get out and speak to the
voters, and what I can assure the voters is that I will be beholden
only to their interests and none other.” Still, he did find time to
take cash from Trump backer and real estate titan Stephen Ross, as
well as from employees of Goldman Sachs and Blackstone, plus many
attorneys. Progressives challenged the range of troublesome
investments Goldman has made over the years, from gun manufacturers to
Big Pharma.

On top of his millions, Goldman also benefited from a ludicrous
endorsement by _The New York Times. _Entirely ignoring the two
experienced women running right behind him, the _Times _essentially
advised that voters in the 10th district give him on-the-job training,
acknowledging that “Mr. Goldman would need to use his first term to
convince the large numbers of lower-income and middle-class Americans
he would represent that he understands the issues facing those
constituents.”

While Niou and Jones united
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the _Times_ endorsement at a press conference to blast Goldman and
say “New York is not for sale,” progressives seemed not to accept
that the only way to prevent Goldman from buying the seat was for them
to coalesce behind the strongest candidate—who all along polls
indicated was Niou.

In addition to facing Goldman’s millions, Niou coped with a
last-minute onslaught of negative advertising from a group calling
itself New York Progressive PAC, reportedly a front for real estate
interests that had defeated progressive candidates in a earlier set of
primaries. They distorted her voting record and also portrayed her as
an enemy of Israel
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her stance on the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, whose
right to peaceful protest she supports
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while differing with many of the group’s tactics and goals. It may
be that with Jewish voters making up almost 20 percent of the 10th,
the estimated half-million the group invested in tarring Niou made a
difference.

But the most important factor in Niou’s loss is the vanity of the
other candidates in refusing to bow out. Last month in Wisconsin,
progressive Senate candidate Mandela Barnes prevailed in a
once-crowded primary that saw his rivals concede before election day,
realizing that a Democratic victory would come down to unity. In New
York’s 10th, a Democratic victory is assured, but not a progressive
one. Goldman is a liberal and he’ll most likely be a fine Congress
member. But the 10th is one of the most progressive districts in the
nation, and deserved better. Unfortunately, progressives couldn’t
get out of their own way to deliver it.

_[JOAN WALSH, a national affairs correspondent for The Nation, is the
author of What’s the Matter With White People? Finding Our Way in
the Next America
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_Copyright c 2022 The Nation. Reprinted with permission. May not be
reprinted without permission
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Distributed by PARS International Corp
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_Please support  progressive journalism. Get a digital subscription
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* 2022 Elections
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* New York
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* New York City
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* Democratic Party
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* Working Families Party
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* WFP
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* Dan Goldman
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* Yuh-Line Niou
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* Mondaire Jones
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* Jerry Nadler
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* Jerrold Nadler
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* Pat Ryan
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* DSA
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* Democratic Socialists of America
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