In April, an upstate judge rejected the congressional and state Senate maps drawn by Albany Democrats as part of the 2022 redistricting process. The process was flawed, the judge ruled. The state’s highest court later agreed the districts were an unconstitutional gerrymander. Instead of holding primaries in June alongside their statewide and assembly colleagues, congressional and state senate candidates would compete in an Aug. 23 primary to give a court-appointed special master time to redraw the maps.
The result was a chaotic scramble as Democratic incumbents were redrawn into districts that pitted them against one another.
But in one district, New York’s 10th Congressional District, there was no incumbent at all.
A council member, two assembly members, a Hudson Valley representative, a nationally recognized prosecutor, a long-retired feminist pioneer, and a recently term-limited mayor all jumped into the race to represent one of the most progressive districts in the nation.
Quickly, former Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped out. But the race remained wide open with at least six candidates having a serious shot at winning the primary before cruising to a general election victory in the heavily Democratic district that spans Lower Manhattan and brownstone Brooklyn.
Those candidates included City Council Member Carlina Rivera, Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou, former House Democratic impeachment counsel Dan Goldman, former New York City Comptroller Elizabeth Holtzman, Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon, and Rep. Mondaire Jones. Six other local advocates, political gadflies, and perennial candidates will join them on the ballot.
The fight to break out of a very crowded field recently has led to greater animosity among some of the candidates, with attacks on each other’s progressive bonafides and fundraising hauls.
WATCH: The full NY1/WNYC 10th Congressional District debate
LISTEN: Off Topic/On Politics: Candidates for Congress take debate stage to make their case
LISTEN: You Decide: Brigid Bergin: Candidates for Congress spar in NY1 debate
With primary day on Aug. 23 and early voting beginning on Aug. 13, here’s what you need to know about each candidate’s background, endorsements, and fundraising.
Dan Goldman
- Bio
- Campaign website: https://www.dangoldmanforny.com/
- Current position: Former House Democratic counsel for President Donald Trump’s first impeachment
- Background: The former lead counsel for House Democrats and heir to the Levi Strauss denim fortune, Dan Goldman would be among the richest members of Congress if elected. In early August, he loaned $1 million to his campaign.
Goldman — also a former assistant U.S. Attorney and counsel for the House Intelligence Committee — argues his experience running Trump’s first impeachment makes him the right man for the moment, as Republicans across the country push to change election laws in the wake of Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
And in a boon to his campaign in the politically-active district, Goldman scored an endorsement from the New York Times.
Recent polling shows Goldman at the head of the race.
- Previous coverage:
- Aug. 15: Niou and Jones join forces to attack Goldman
- Aug. 14: Congressional candidates make final pitches to voters
- Aug. 13: Candidates vying for endorsements on first day of early voting
- Aug. 12: Off Topic/On Politics: Candidates for Congress take debate stage to make their case
- Aug. 12: House candidates in final stretch as early voting begins
- Aug. 11: You Decide: Brigid Bergin: Candidates for Congress spar in NY1 debate
- Aug. 9: On eve of NY1/WNYC debate, NY-10 candidates turn on rivals
- Aug. 8: Endorsements, self-financing mark city House races’ final weeks
- Aug. 4: With House GOP leader in NYC, Democrats try to get publicity
- July 28: NY-10 contenders seize every opportunity to scrutinize rivals’ fundraising
- July 22: Several claim progressive mantle in crowded race for Congress
- July 13: Inside City Hall: Lead counsel in Trump’s first impeachment runs for Congress
- July 8: Former de Blasio allies endorse his opponents in crowded race for Congress
Key endorsements
- The New York Times
- Assembly member Bobby Carroll
- Assembly member Brian Cunningham
- State Sen. Simcha Eichenstein
- Former Rep. Steve Israel
- Former Lt. Gov. Dick Ravitch
- Village Independent Democrats
- The Steady Slate, a coalition of former national security officials
- Numerous Boro Park Hasidic leaders and yeshivas
- Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, former U.S. national security official and first Trump impeachment witness
- Fundraising
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
- Total contributions/receipts: $3,442,134.49
- Loans: $1,988,468.20
- Twice in August, Goldman loaned his campaign $1 million:
- Loans: $1,988,468.20
- Spending/disbursements: $2,506,979.96
- Cash on hand: $935,154.53
- Total contributions/receipts: $3,442,134.49
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
Elizabeth Holtzman
- Bio
- Campaign website: https://lizholtzman.com/home/
- Current position: Retired former Congress member, former Brooklyn district attorney, and former New York City comptroller
Background: After 28 years away from political office, Elizabeth Holtzman, says she decided to run for Congress again because of a rise in violent crime across the five boroughs and to protect women’s rights.
“It took me a long time to decide, but here’s the reason: We live in really dangerous times,” she told NY1 political anchor Bobby Cuza on “Inside City Hall” in June.
Holtzman was the first woman to hold the office of City Council Comptroller from 1990 to 1993, the first woman to serve as a Brooklyn District Attorney from 1982 to 1989, and was the 16th Congressional District representative from 1973 to 1981. In 1973, she was among the first members of Congress to call for the impeachment of President Richard Nixon.
Holtzman, who left Washington, D.C. in 1981, would return to Congress as an 81-year-old freshman member, if elected.
- Previous coverage:
- Aug. 12: Off Topic/On Politics: Candidates for Congress take debate stage to make their case
- Aug. 11: You Decide: Brigid Bergin: Candidates for Congress spar in NY1 debate
- Aug. 9: On eve of NY1/WNYC debate, NY-10 candidates turn on rivals
- Aug. 8: Endorsements, self-financing mark city House races’ final weeks
- Aug. 5: Young or old, age is factor in political elections
- June 16: Inside City Hall: Holtzman launches bid for Congress
- July 14: Candidates vie for attention in crowded congressional primary
- Nov. 12, 2019: You Decide: Elizabeth Holtzman: Impeachment Lessons
- Key endorsements
- Fundraising
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
- Total contributions/receipts: $226,930.75
- Spending/disbursements: $176,450.64
- Cash on hand: $50,480.11
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
Mondaire Jones
- Bio
- Campaign website: https://mondaireforcongress.com/
- Current position: Representative of a Hudson Valley congressional district
- Background: Rep. Mondaire Jones currently represents New York’s 17th District in the Hudson Valley, but chose to run in the 10th Congressional District after Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney opted to run in the redrawn version of Jones’ current district, which included Maloney’s home. Jones moved from the Hudson Valley to live in the redrawn 10th District that lacked an incumbent.
In an interview with Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” in July, Jones said that constituents in Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, Rockland County and Westchester County alike all want “an economy that works for everybody.”
“Everyone is concerned about inflation. Everyone is concerned about making sure that their local schools are high quality. Everyone is concerned about ending the epidemic of gun violence in America,” Jones said. “It’s why I’ve been so grateful to be in conversation with people in my neighborhood, in Carroll Gardens, and, of course, throughout the district talking about the work I’ve been doing that has been directly in service of the people of this district.”
- Previous coverage:
- Aug. 15: Niou and Jones join forces to attack Goldman
- Aug. 12: Off Topic/On Politics: Candidates for Congress take debate stage to make their case
- Aug. 12: House candidates in final stretch as early voting begins
- Aug. 11: You Decide: Brigid Bergin: Candidates for Congress spar in NY1 debate
- Aug. 9: On eve of NY1/WNYC debate, NY-10 candidates turn on rivals
- Aug. 8: Endorsements, self-financing mark city House races’ final weeks
- July 28: NY-10 contenders seize every opportunity to scrutinize rivals’ fundraising
- July 26: Inside City Hall: Rep. Mondaire Jones makes his case in primary in new district
- July 22: Several claim progressive mantle in crowded race for Congress
- May 21: Hudson Valley congressman enters New York City primary, faces de Blasio
- Key endorsements
- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
- New Jersey Senator Cory Booker
- Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey
- Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal
- Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin
- California Rep. Ted Lieu
- Congressional Black Caucus PAC and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC
- Communications Workers of America Local 1180, a public sector union representing workers within the mayor’s office, New York City Health + Hospitals, NYCHA, the Transit Authority, state courts, and the Board of Education
- The Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union
- Uniformed Fire Officers Association, which represents FDNY brass
- Fundraising
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
- Total contributions/receipts: $3,567,285.18
- Spending/disbursements: $2,406,812.70
- Cash on hand: $1,958,060.96
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
Yuh-Line Niou
- Bio
- Campaign website: https://www.nioufornewyork.com/
- Current position: Assembly member for the Lower East Side, Chinatown, the South Street Seaport, the Financial District and Battery Park City
- Background: Yuh-Line Niou’s entire Assembly district, where she’s served for six years, is located inside the boundaries of the 10th Congressional District, an open seat drawn by a court-appointed special master after the original redistricting maps were ruled unconstitutional.
She currently represents Manhattan’s Chinatown, and the new district also includes Sunset Park — one of Brooklyn’s Chinatowns, Niou pointed out on “Inside City Hall” with Errol Louis in July.
“It’s the first time where we’ll have an open election where both Chinatowns are going to be able to be represented in that way,” Niou said. “I think that we have a very, very, very bright path.”
Recent polling shows Niou second in the race, trailing Goldman by five points.
- Previous coverage:
- Aug. 15: Niou and Jones join forces to attack Goldman
- Aug. 14: Congressional candidates make final pitches to voters
- Aug. 13: Candidates vying for endorsements on first day of early voting
- Aug. 12: Off Topic/On Politics: Candidates for Congress take debate stage to make their case
- Aug. 12: House candidates in final stretch as early voting begins
- Aug. 11: You Decide: Brigid Bergin: Candidates for Congress spar in NY1 debate
- Aug. 9: On eve of NY1/WNYC debate, NY-10 candidates turn on rivals
- Aug. 8: Endorsements, self-financing mark city House races’ final weeks
- July 29: In NY-10, Latinos and AAPI could have more representation
- July 28: NY-10 contenders seize every opportunity to scrutinize rivals’ fundraising
- July 22: Several claim progressive mantle in crowded race for Congress
- July 8: Former de Blasio allies endorse his opponents in crowded race for Congress
- July 8: Inside City Hall: Yuh-Line Niou lays out her path to victory in packed race for Congress
- Key endorsements
- All endorsements
- New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams
- Boston Mayor Michelle Wu
- Council Members Tiffany Cabán and Shahana Hanif
- Brooklyn State Sen. Julia Salazar
- Queens State Sen. John Liu
- Queens Assembly Member Ron Kim
- Cynthia Nixon, actor and 2018 gubernatorial candidate
- New York Working Families Party
- The Jewish Vote
- Sunrise Movement NYC
- Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live cast member
- Ronnie Chieng, The Daily Show correspondent
- Fundraising
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
- Total contributions/receipts: $427,904.91
- Spending/disbursements: $205,062.67
- Cash on hand: $222,842.24
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
Carlina Rivera
- Bio
- Campaign website: https://www.carlinarivera.nyc/
- Current position: City Council member for the East Village, Flatiron, Gramercy Park, Rose Hill, Kips Bay, Murray Hill and the Lower East Side; chair of the City Council’s criminal justice committee
Background: Six months after dropping out of the race for New York City Council speaker, Carlina Rivera announced her candidacy for Congress in New York’s 10th Congressional District.
Beyond her representation of the Lower East Side in the City Council, Rivera said on “Inside City Hall” with Errol Louis in June that she has roots in the Brooklyn parts of the district where her family lives.
Rivera pointed to her work on the Council as having “international and national implications,” including pandemic preparedness, climate change legislation, and increasing affordable housing, including the rezoning of NoHo and SoHo.
Recent polling has shown Rivera at the head of the pack alongside Yuh-Line Niou and Dan Goldman.
- Previous coverage:
- Aug. 14: Congressional candidates make final pitches to voters
- Aug. 13: Candidates vying for endorsements on first day of early voting
- Aug. 12: Off Topic/On Politics: Candidates for Congress take debate stage to make their case
- Aug. 11: You Decide: Brigid Bergin: Candidates for Congress spar in NY1 debate
- Aug. 9: On eve of NY1/WNYC debate, NY-10 candidates turn on rivals
- Aug. 8: Endorsements, self-financing mark city House races’ final weeks
- Aug. 4: With House GOP leader in NYC, Democrats try to get publicity
- July 29: In NY-10, Latinos and AAPI could have more representation
- July 28: NY-10 contenders seize every opportunity to scrutinize rivals’ fundraising
- July 22: Several claim progressive mantle in crowded race for Congress
- July 8: Former de Blasio allies endorse his opponents in crowded race for Congress
- Key endorsements
- All endorsements
- New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams
- Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who represents Washington Heights and Inwood
- Rep. Nydia Velázquez, who represents parts of central and western Brooklyn and the Lower East Side
- Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine
- Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso
- Over twenty of her 52 City Council colleagues
- Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke, who also served as U.S. ambassador to China and U.S. Secretary of Commerce under the Obama administration
- 1199 SEIU, a union of healthcare workers and a significant political force in New York politics, with 450,000 members across the northeast
- TWU Local 100, a transit workers union that represents tens of thousands of New York City bus and subway employees
- The Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City
- New York League of Conservation Voters
- Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club
- Fundraising
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
- Total contributions/receipts: $637,513.82
- Loans: $2,900.00
- In June, Rivera loaned her campaign $2,900. On July 15, she paid herself back, according to campaign finance records.
- Loans: $2,900.00
- Spending/disbursements: $424,896.01
- Cash on hand: $212,617.81
- Total contributions/receipts: $637,513.82
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
Jo Anne Simon
- Bio
- Campaign website: https://joannesimonforcongress.com/
- Current position: Assembly member for parts of DUMBO, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus, and Park Slope
Background: Jo Anne Simon told Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” in July that she decided to run for the newly-drawn congressional seat because of her history as an activist and elected official in the neighborhoods in western Brooklyn included in the district, which also spans parts of Lower Manhattan.
“It wasn’t my plan to run for Congress. But the reality is when you look at this district, it’s so many communities that I’ve already represented or that I worked in,” Simon said.“I could see how all of our issues were connected and I think that is a perspective that I will bring to Congress,” Simon added. “It is a perspective that I already delivered for my constituents for sure and the big issue that we’re talking about is gun violence, which I’ve been successful in passing major gun violence legislation in the state Assembly.”
In office, she said she would also combat the overturning of Roe v. Wade and use legislation to address Supreme Court decisions to find ways “to continue to protect New Yorkers.”
Simon has called on Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the Brooklyn Democratic leader, to step down alongside other reformers in the borough. The Assembly member said Hermelyn was uninterested in bringing new ideas and energy into the county party.
- Previous coverage:
- Aug. 12: Off Topic/On Politics: Candidates for Congress take debate stage to make their case
- Aug. 11: You Decide: Brigid Bergin: Candidates for Congress spar in NY1 debate
- Aug. 9: On eve of NY1/WNYC debate, NY-10 candidates turn on rivals
- Aug. 8: Endorsements, self-financing mark city House races’ final weeks
- July 22: Several claim progressive mantle in crowded race for Congress
- July 7: Inside City Hall: Jo Anne Simon makes her case in crowded congressional race
- Key endorsements
- Fundraising
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
- Total contributions/receipts: $262,091.00
- Includes a $134,000 personal loan to her campaign
- On Aug. 5, Simon made an additional $270,000 personal loan to her campaign, though that has yet to be reflected in Federal Election Commission filings.
- Spending/disbursements: $104,827.10
- Cash on hand: $157,263.90
- Total contributions/receipts: $262,091.00
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
Quanda Francis
- Bio
- Campaign website: https://quandafrancis.com/
- Current position: President of the consulting company Sykes Capital Management
- Background: Quanda Francis is a tech consultant who briefly ran in the Democratic primary for state comptroller before dropping out. Francis also ran as a Democrat in the 2021 primary election for mayor before dropping out to run as an Independent. She received 0.34% of the vote in the general election.
- Previous coverage:
- Fundraising
- Francis has not submitted any campaign finance filings, according to the FEC.
Peter J. Gleason
- Bio
- Campaign website: N/A
- Current position: N/A
- Background: In 2017, Gleason ran for Manhattan district attorney as a write-in candidate and was endorsed by NYPD whistleblower Frank Serpico. He received a few hundred votes.
- Fundraising
- Gleason has not submitted any campaign finance filings, according to the FEC. He is on the ballot according to the New York City Board of Elections.
Jimmy Li
- Bio
- Fundraising
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
- Total contributions/receipts: $64,051.00
- Spending/disbursements: $43,879.42
- Cash on hand: $20,171.58
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
Maud Maron
- Bio
- Campaign website: https://maudmaron.com/
- Current position: Attorney and education advocate
- Background: A longtime public defender and education advocate, Maud Maron became a staunch opponent to pandemic-era regulations, including mask and vaccine mandates. In an interview with Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” in July, Maron said one of her top issues if elected would be revisions to the Biden administration’s proposed Title IX updates and the exclusion of transgender people from women’s athletics and “single-sex spaces.”
- Previous coverage:
- Key endorsements
- New York Post
- New Era Democrats
- Parents Protecting Childhood, an anti-mask mandate, anti-COVID vaccine mandate group
- Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education, a pro-specialized high school advocacy group
- Buck Angel, trans filmmaker and actvist
- Asian Wave Alliance, a nonpartisan political club
- Fundraising
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
- Total contributions/receipts: $101,965.50
- Spending/disbursements: $79,542.70
- Cash on hand: $22,422.80
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
Brian Robinson
- Bio
- Campaign website: https://www.votebriannyc.com/
- Current position: Candidate, author, founder of a debt consolidation company
- Background: Brian Robinson is running on a platform focused on New York City’s homelessness crisis and rising crime. In an interview with Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” in March, he said he would seek audits of the “homeless industrial complex,” calling for the shelter system to have greater oversight and to mandate medical evaluations for homeless New Yorkers in contact with the criminal justice system.
- Previous coverage:
- Key endorsements
- All endorsements
- New Yorkers for Safe Streets
- Enforce NYC, an advocate focused on quality of life and cycling law enforcement
- Rev. Kevin McCall, Brooklyn\civil rights activist and former crisis director at the National Action Network
- Fundraising
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
- Total contributions/receipts: $231,321.71
- Spending/disbursements: $120,524.83
- Cash on hand: $110,796.88
- Summary (as of Aug. 3)
Yan Xiong
- Bio
- Campaign website: https://www.yanxiongforcongress2022.com/
- Current position: Pastor and community leader
- Background: Yan Xiong is a Chinese-American activist, pastor, and U.S. Army veteran who served in the Iraq War and was involved in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in China. In March, federal prosecutors broke up a plot by Chinese government agents to discredit and attack Xiong’s campaign, the Associated Press reported.
- Fundraising
- Xiong has not submitted any campaign finance filings since announcing his candidacy, according to the FEC.