NEW YORK — Brad Lander, New York City’s outgoing comptroller, is challenging Congressman Dan Goldman in this summer’s Democratic primary election, portraying himself as a progressive stalwart who can do a better job at fighting President Donald Trump’s agenda on Capitol Hill.

Lander’s bid for Goldman’s 10th Congressional District, which spans Lower Manhattan and brownstone Brooklyn neighborhoods like Park Slope, tees off a heated contest that stands to test the strength of some of the most prominent names in left-wing politics. The race could also be seen as a litmus test for how Democrats view Israel’s war in Gaza, with Lander and Goldman staking out distinctly different views on the conflict.

In addition to launching his campaign, Lander announced Wednesday he has already locked in the endorsement of incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who pulled off a historic Nov. 4 election victory.

Lander, whose last day as comptroller is Dec. 31, also revealed he has the backing of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, two former presidential candidates popular with left-leaning voters.

In a campaign video shot in the Park Slope neighborhood he calls home, Lander took aim at Goldman over what he sees as his ineffectiveness in fighting Trump. He also blasted the incumbent for his stance on Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and was launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack.

“I’m running for Congress because the challenges we face can’t be solved with strongly worded letters or high dollar fundraisers, and not by doing AIPAC’s bidding,” Lander said, a reference to the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee that has supported Goldman.

Lander then offered a callout to Mamdani: “Our mayor can have an ally in Washington instead of an adversary in his own backyard.”

Lander, who is Jewish, has strongly criticized Israel’s Gaza campaign, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing war crimes, though he has stopped short of calling the war “a genocide” of Palestinians, a label used by Mamdani. Goldman, who is also Jewish, has largely supported Israel’s Gaza war.

Mamdani ran against Lander in this past June’s Democratic primary. But as polls indicated his chances at victory were narrow, Lander cross-endorsed Mamdani under the primary’s ranked-choice voting system, a move that’s seen as having given the mayor-elect a major boost propelling him to defeat his main opponent, ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“He has been a trusted ally and partner of mine, and I’m proud to support him as I know he’ll continue delivering for those who need government to show up for them the most,” Mamdani, who was at one point seen as likely appointing Lander to a top post in his administration, said in a statement on the comptroller’s congressional campaign kickoff.

A spokeswoman for Goldman, a former federal prosecutor and an heir to the Levi & Strauss fortune who did not support Mamdani for mayor, said Wednesday that the congressman remains “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,” said spokeswoman Maddy Rosen.

Before being elected to Congress by a narrow margin in 2022, Goldman was the House Democrats’ lead counsel during Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 and has on Capitol Hill taken a firm stance against the president, including on immigration.

But Lander sought to portray Goldman as someone who, after spending $4 million of his own money on his 2022 campaign, hasn’t done enough in the halls of Congress.

“While the oligarchy drives an affordability crisis, they shouldn’t be able to buy a seat in Congress,” said Lander, who was recently arrested by ICE agents while observing immigration court proceedings at 26 Federal Plaza. “While our neighbors are being demonized and attacked, we can put our bodies on the line to protect them. New York is for everyone.”

Unlike Mamdani, Lander is not a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. In lining up behind Lander, Mamdani may alienate some of his DSA allies, especially as the left-wing group’s members recently voted to endorse one of their own, Brooklyn Councilwoman Alexa Aviles, for the primary in the 10th Congressional District.

Aviles hasn’t officially launched a run but has been actively weighing one for weeks, prompting the DSA endorsement. She didn’t immediately return a request for comment Wednesday on Lander’s announcement.

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