Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s allies are showing strength in two New York City congressional primaries, with former city Comptroller Brad Lander holding a wide lead over Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th District and Assembly Member Claire Valdez narrowly ahead in the 7th District, according to new Emerson College Polling/PIX11 surveys.
Lander, whom Mamdani has endorsed, led Goldman 57% to 23% among likely Democratic primary voters in the 10th District, with 20% undecided. Lander led across all age groups, with his strongest support among voters under 40, who backed him 73% to 15%, according to Emerson College Polling Executive Director Spencer Kimball.
A Goldman campaign spokesperson disputed the poll’s findings, telling amNewYork, “That’s not what our data says,” pointing to an earlier poll from a Goldman-aligned super PAC that shows Lander with a much smaller lead, and arguing that Thursday’s survey does not reflect the electorate expected to vote in the June primary.
For their part, the Lander campaign told amNewYork that it is not relaxing at all, despite the positive poll numbers.
“We’re taking nothing for granted and continuing to run like we’re in the fight of our lives, because we are: we’ve got a fascist in the White House, rogue ICE agents in our streets, and billionaires trying to buy our elections,” the campaign said in a statement. “But around here, neighbors showing up for each other is how we fight back. Brad is going to keep relentlessly organizing alongside them, through the primary on June 23rd, and far beyond.”
Other key House races in NYC
In the 7th District, Valdez, another Mamdani-backed candidate, led Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso 23% to 21%, with City Councilor Julie Won at 13% and 43% undecided.
Kimball said the race showed a clear age divide: voters under 40 favored Valdez over Reynoso, 33% to 15%, while voters over 50 backed Reynoso over Valdez, 27% to 13%.
In the 12th District, Assembly Member Micah Lasher had 22% support, followed by Assembly Member Alex Bores at 20%, President John F Kennedy’s grandson Jack Schlossberg at 11% and former Republican lawyer George Conway at 10%. Thirty-two percent of voters were undecided.
The polls also found strong approval for Mayor Mamdani among Democratic primary voters in the three districts. His job approval stood at 78% in the 7th District, 79% in the 10th District, and 66% in the 12th District.
Majorities of Democratic primary voters in each district said they feel “very safe” in their neighborhoods. At the same time, many voters expressed negative views of the economy, with 58% in the 7th District, 52% in the 10th District and 48% in the 12th District describing it as poor.
The Emerson College Polling surveys were conducted May 16-17. The 7th District survey included 350 likely Democratic primary voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.2 percentage points. The 10th District survey included 450 likely Democratic primary voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.6 percentage points. The 12th District survey included 425 likely Democratic primary voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percentage points.
