With Brad Lander’s announcement on Wednesday of his primary challenge to Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), allies of the progressive New York City comptroller are feeling particularly bullish about his prospects.

Lander, a former longtime city councilman, is widely known in Goldman’s left-leaning, heavily Jewish district, which covers Lower Manhattan as well as parts of Brooklyn. Polling has suggested a primary matchup will be competitive. Lander is also expected to notch a key endorsement from Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City and a democratic socialist who performed strongly in the deep-blue district last month.

But even as Lander now seeks to capitalize on the newfound momentum from Mamdani’s victory, some experts speculated that he could face more obstacles than his supporters have envisioned in his bid to unseat a two-term incumbent with vast personal wealth and who is nationally recognized as a top Democratic foe of President Donald Trump.

“A Democratic primary for Congress during a midterm election in which the narrative will strongly focus on rebuking President Trump and his agenda means, for candidates, a heavy reliance on credibility taking on the president,” Jake Dilemani, a Democratic consultant, told Jewish Insider on Tuesday. 

Goldman, a Jewish Democrat who served as a Trump impeachment prosecutor before he was elected, “has those credentials and the ability to show voters how he took on Trump in the past and won,” Dilemani said. “His antagonistic history with President Trump is unique compared to the rest of the field.”

While both Lander and Goldman have been forceful opponents of Trump’s deportation efforts, Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic strategist, called Goldman “the guy who took on Trump before it was fashionable,” arguing that he “has plenty to run on.”

He also predicted that Lander “is going to have problems going after Goldman” over his support for Israel “because [Lander is] a Jew who identifies as a liberal Zionist,” a term increasingly used as a pejorative on the far left. Lander, 56, has long been a vocal critic of Israel, but he is not aligned with the anti-Zionist left in refusing to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, a disagreement that could fuel some tension during his campaign.

“You can’t dislodge an incumbent without a negative campaign. What’s the negative campaign? It’s not clear yet,” Sheinkopf told JI. “Goldman has a better playbook to work with.”

In a statement to JI on Tuesday, Maddy Rosen, a spokesperson for Goldman, said the congressman “is 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,” Rosen added.

A spokesperson for Lander declined to comment. Mamdani’s team did not respond to a request for comment.

Lander, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for mayor, during which he emerged as a top ally of Mamdani, had been widely viewed as poised for a leading role in the mayor-elect’s administration. Instead of offering him a job, Mamdani reportedly encouraged him to challenge Goldman, promising an endorsement in next year’s June primary, likely to be among the most bitterly contested Democratic fights of the upcoming election cycle.

Goldman, 49, does still possess some notable vulnerabilities that have made him a target of the left. His outspoken support for Israel amid its war in Gaza irked many progressive voters, for instance, while his ties to AIPAC have fueled criticism from another potential rival, Alexa Avilés, a far-left city councilwoman who has been weighing a campaign. 

Yuh-Line Niou, a former state assemblywoman who narrowly lost to Goldman during his first House bid in 2022, was considering a rematch but decided not to run to avoid splintering the anti-Goldman vote, she said on Tuesday.

Chris Coffey, a Democratic consultant who lives in the district, posited that by entering the race earlier than his potential opponents, Lander is now “trying to box out” the Democratic Socialists of America — which has officially endorsed Avilés for the primary.

“I think Dan will be able to raise money and have folks spend on his behalf,” Coffey added. “Overall a lot of money will be spent on this race.”

A spokesperson for AIPAC, which has endorsed Goldman and supported his first House campaign, declined to comment on the brewing primary battle.

Even absent outside spending, Goldman, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune whose estimated net worth is up to $250 million, can draw on his own personal wealth to help fund his reelection bid and mount an offensive against Lander — who is hoping to capture the enthusiasm of the party’s grassroots base and is reportedly courting endorsements from progressive leaders including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

During his first congressional primary three years ago, Goldman dropped nearly $5 million of his own money into the race, prevailing in a crowded field of prominent progressive opponents with a plurality of the vote. Goldman easily won reelection last year, beating a handful of lesser-known challengers.