Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) lost his Tuesday primary to challenger Brad Lander, a former city comptroller backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D). CNN’s Kaitlan Collins informed Lander live on air.

Goldman was battling to hold onto his Manhattan and Brooklyn House seat as he’s faced growing backlash over his support of Israel. A New York City coffee shop even made headlines recently for banning the congressman and branding him a “genocide enabler,” referring to his support of Israel striking Gaza in response to the October 7 attack from the terror group Hamas.

“What is going on in the Middle East is horrific. And the idea of accusing someone who you don’t know of supporting a genocide — I mean, it’s crazy,” Goldman told CNN about the ban. “Now, I may disagree as to whether or not there’s a genocide, but come on. We’re better than this.”

Lander’s challenge was widely seen as a potential sign for the future direction of the Democratic Party and a test of Mamdani’s political influence. The Democratic socialist backed multiple candidates going into primaries on Tuesday night.

Lander appeared on CNN as the race was being called. He took an early lead after polls closed at 9 p.m., quickly racking up more than 60% support.

“We came on the air just a couple of minutes ago as the numbers were still coming in. In your race, I’m going to do something a little unusual here. So I want you to bear with me. Not many candidates are on CNN when they hear this music. But we do have breaking news, and we can now project that Brad Lander will defeat the incumbent congressman, Dan Goldman, in the Democratic primary for New York’s 10th congressional district. And, sir, obviously, since we have you here live on air, as we are making this call, um, what is your first reaction to this?” Collins asked.

“Well, thank you. First of all, obviously I’m thrilled,” Lander said. “I did not expect to be on air when the race was called. Look, I love election day. I like the voters get to go out and cast their ballots and say, here’s who we want to represent us. These are the fights that matter to us. And all I can say is I promise to go out every single day and fight for my constituents and the values that they have because we need a country that stands up for working people. It doesn’t make it so hard to live here. I’ll be fighting for a city everyone can afford and where everyone is welcome. And I’m really honored to be on your show tonight.”

Watch above via CNN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!