The Nation threw its support behind Brad Lander for New York’s 10th Congressional District ahead of the June 23 Democratic primary, arguing Lander’s record on housing, labor protections, climate and investment policy—along with his approach to foreign policy—f
Brad Lander’s campaign for Congress didn’t just get another boost—it received an outright endorsement built on a single, urgent claim: New York’s 10th District needs him now.
In an enthusiastic endorsement for the June 23 Democratic primary, The Nation backed Lander, arguing he is not only an “able candidate,” but “a necessary candidate” to lead in the House.
The magazine’s case rests on what it says comes next for Democrats in November. It argues there is a “good chance” Democrats will retake the House. and if they do. they would immediately face a two-part challenge: “checking and balancing Donald Trump’s chaos” while presenting what The Nation calls a bold vision for how the United States should address critical issues spanning economic policy. social justice. environmental priorities. and foreign affairs.
That sets up the contrast the endorsement tries to make unavoidable: Lander versus the incumbent Democrat he’s running against in the primary, two-term Rep. Dan Goldman.
The Nation frames Goldman as part of a “business-as-usual” wing of the Democratic Party. saying he represents a centrist status quo that. in the magazine’s view. has repeatedly missed opportunities because it refuses to break from it. In that telling. Lander becomes the alternative—someone willing to “drain the swamp” in Washington and confront what The Nation describes as pay-to-play corruption turning “billionaires into trillionaires” while working people struggle to get by.
To explain why it believes Lander is ready. The Nation points to what it describes as decades of governing experience—starting with his early leadership of the Fifth Avenue Committee. a community-based affordable housing organization. The magazine says Lander focused on “affordability” before it became a political buzzword. and then credits him with building and advancing progressive goals across roles including multi-term city councilman and city comptroller.
The endorsement lists a series of policy efforts it says Lander helped advance or secure. Among them: paid sick leave that the magazine says he pursued “over the veto of Mayor Michael Bloomberg”; divestment from fossil fuels; efforts to protect tenants from eviction; stable schedules for workers; living wages and protections against wage theft for contingent workers.
From there, The Nation expands its argument from policy to political method. It says Lander understands “inside/outside” coalitions and challenges entrenched interests by coordinating allies beyond government. The magazine credits Lander with enlisting the Working Families Party and other allies to build the Progressive Caucus on the city council. It also points to his role in helping start Local Progress. describing it as a national network of progressive local leaders sharing ideas and strategies from communities nationwide.
The endorsement further highlights what it calls Lander’s financial leadership as city comptroller. including strategies it says grew pension funds to nearly $300 billion and were used to secure retirement security for “tens of thousands of workers and retirees.” It also says he established standards for socially responsible investment—divesting city funds from fossil fuels. investing in affordable housing. and securing corporate governance rules the magazine describes as stronger. designed to protect worker rights at companies where city funds are invested.
The Nation says that experience helped make Lander an appealing mayoral candidate in 2025. It notes that he did not win that election, but adds that his partnership with Zohran Mamdani “transformed” city politics. The magazine points to what it calls a breakthrough alliance: it says Mamdani and Lander. described as a Jew and a Muslim. cross-endorsed under New York’s ranked choice voting system and campaigned together before the Democratic mayor primary last year. It says the cross-endorsed campaign helped open a deep well of solidarity across what other people had seen as lines of division.
It emphasizes that Mamdani’s endorsement of Lander in the District 10 race continues that approach.
The endorsement then moves from politics on paper to politics at street level. The Nation recounts that Lander was “roughly arrested last year” during an ICE crackdown at a federal immigration court facility while he was trying to accompany asylum seekers. describing the act as Lander “putting his body on the line” and saying he did so alongside a team of activists and organizations “bearing witness” in the tradition of nonviolent resistance. It also says he returned regularly to the courthouse and accompanied more asylum seekers.
On foreign policy, The Nation portrays Lander as carrying an activist stance into Congress. It says Lander. described as a progressive Jew. calls out what it frames as the perils of Israeli apartheid and the genocide in Gaza. It adds that The Nation believes Lander would fight for a new Democratic foreign policy aimed at ending what it calls “America’s endless wars. ” curbing “Trump’s preposterous military spending. ” and rebuilding commitment to global alliances required to address “real security challenges. ” including climate change. pandemics. and the development of AI.
The endorsement says Lander would emphasize global peacemaking over militarism and cooperation over divisive scheming, and it argues he believes New Yorkers’ tax dollars should not be used to fund forever wars and human rights violations—whether carried out by foreign leaders or by U.S. presidents.
The Nation also links the endorsement’s domestic and financial arguments to its view of what comes next in Washington. It says Lander’s comptroller background gives him knowledge of budgets and financial markets that would be valuable for House efforts to curb Wall Street’s profiteering and renew public investment. It adds that he champions federal ideas including using federal resources to support affordable housing, public banking, and other initiatives.
Against that, The Nation places its critique of Goldman in sharp terms. It writes that Goldman has been unable or unwilling to use his congressional seat as a base for fundamental change.
The endorsement then points to a cluster of claims about Goldman’s conduct and voting record. It asks voters whether Goldman has been making more than 520 trades worth at least $10 million in industries he is meant to oversee as a member of Congress. It also cites that Goldman voted to censure progressive Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib. And it says Goldman keeps voting to send 2,000-pound bombs to Benjamin Netanyahu to continue Israel’s war on Palestinians.
The Nation does acknowledge Goldman’s efforts before he was in Congress. writing that Goldman “deserves credit” for attempting to impeach Trump before he was a member of Congress. But it says Goldman’s record since his election illustrates what it calls the failure of Democratic centrists to understand threats tied to growing inequality. a “corrupted political system. ” and Trump’s “usurpations.”.
The endorsement closes with a direct argument to the district’s voters: The Nation says New York’s 10th District has an opportunity to send a strong leader to Congress. and that. in its view. “That’s not Dan Goldman. That’s Brad Lander.” It concludes by saying Lander has done the work on issue after issue. and that he believes government’s job is to make lives better—in New York. across the nation. and around the world—while insisting he will not compromise his values or those of the New Yorkers who elect him.
In the final stretch of the magazine’s broader political pitch, The Nation also frames the moment beyond NY-10. It says the midterm elections are “firmly upon us” and questions whether Democratic candidates will do more than occupy ballot lines as mild alternatives to what it calls Donald Trump’s “red-hot crisis.” It points to Trump spending “over $1 billion a day” on a globally destabilizing war on Iran and cites Trump admitting he does not “think about Americans’ financial situation. ” then says millions are struggling with surging costs of essentials.
The Nation tells readers it is raising $20,000 in June to power its independent journalism in the run-up to November’s “immensely consequential elections.” It closes with an appeal to readers to donate and a sign-off from Katrina vanden Huevel, Editor and Publisher, The Nation.
Brad Lander Dan Goldman NY-10 June 23 Democratic primary The Nation endorsement U.S. House New York politics housing city comptroller progressive caucus paid sick leave fossil fuel divestment ICE crackdown asylum seekers Rashida Tlaib censure 2 000-pound bombs Gaza Israel apartheid