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      Daniel Goldman, Ex-Trump Prosecutor, Tops Crowded Field in N.Y. Primary

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      Daniel Goldman, the former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the first impeachment case against Donald J. Trump, captured the Democratic nomination for an open House seat covering parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan, according to The Associated Press.The victory on Tuesday in the heavily Democratic district all but assures Mr. Goldman a seat in Congress come 2023; he will face Benine Hamdan, a little-known Republican candidate, in November. Mr. Goldman, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, has a net worth of up to $253 million and pumped nearly $5 million of his own money into the race.As of early Wednesday morning, Mr. Goldman had won 16,686 votes, or 25.72 percent of the total, according to unofficial results from the city Board of Elections. Yuh-Line Niou, the runner-up, a state assemblywoman from Manhattan, won 15,380 votes, or 23.71 percent of the total. Some absentee ballots have yet to be counted, and on Tuesday night, Ms. Niou declined to concede.During his victory speech Tuesday night, which he delivered before the race was formally called, Mr. Goldman singled out the Jewish and Chinese-American communities in the district for backing his campaign.“Tonight though is not a victory for myself, or any one person,” he said. “It is a victory for all of us, all of us who will not let authoritarian forces undermine the foundation of our democracy and the rule of law.”He vanquished several candidates who had stronger political ties to the area and who were drawn into the 10th Congressional District after an unusually messy redistricting process earlier this year.The district’s contours changed to include the northwest precincts of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan — prompting Representative Jerrold Nadler, who now represents the 10th District, to run in the 12th District against another incumbent, Carolyn Maloney, after that district was redrawn to include his Upper West Side base.The result was a rare open seat in the heart of New York City, and a political gold rush. Thirteen Democratic candidates were on the ballot Tuesday, including a former congresswoman, a current congressman from the northern New York City suburbs, two local state assemblywomen and a local city councilwoman.Carlina Rivera speaks to supporters and volunteers on the Lower East Side.Sarah Blesener for The New York TimesMondaire Jones conceded to Daniel Goldman at his Park Slope election party.Dave Sanders for The New York TimesMr. Goldman lacked the political connections of many of his opponents. He had never held elective office before, nor had he been particularly involved with local Democratic political clubs or neighborhood community boards. But his wealth enabled him to carpet bomb the district with television ads. And Mr. Goldman was able to successfully advance his case for election: that only a lawyer with his background prosecuting crime was equipped to protect American democracy in the age of Mr. Trump.In the waning days of the race, several of Mr. Goldman’s opponents sought to turn his financial stature and investment portfolio against him. According to financial disclosures with the House, which cover an 18-month period ending June 30, Mr. Goldman has a line of credit from Goldman Sachs worth up to $50 million, and has held investments in the weapons manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & Company; in oil companies including Chevron and Exxon Mobil; and the parent company of Fox News.Yuh-Line Niou did not concede on Tuesday night.Stephanie Keith for The New York TimesMr. Goldman promised to put his assets into a blind trust upon taking office and argued his holdings were so politically diverse because his portfolio was structured to mirror the S&P 500.Last Monday, two of his competitors — Ms. Niou and Representative Mondaire Jones, the congressman who currently represents Rockland County and parts of Westchester — held a joint news conference accusing Mr. Goldman of trying to buy the election. Mr. Jones called Mr. Goldman a “conservative Democrat.”“He is using his inherited wealth to distort the Democratic process, to the point where he may well win this race if this grass-roots coalition does not stop him from doing so,” Mr. Jones said. Reporting was contributed by Téa Kvetenadze, Jasmine Sheena, Sadef Kully and Samira Sadeque. More

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      Nadler Routs Maloney in Marquee Showdown of Bruising New York Primaries

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      Representative Jerrold Nadler, the influential chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, handily defeated his longtime congressional neighbor, Carolyn B. Maloney, in a bruising three-way primary battle on Tuesday that was preordained to end one of the powerful Democrats’ political careers.The star-crossed skirmish in the heart of Manhattan was unlike any New York City — or the Democratic Party writ large — had seen in recent memory. Though few ideological differences were at stake, it pitted two committee chairs who have served side by side in Washington since the 1990s against each other, and cleaved party faithful into rival factions.Allies had tried to pull Mr. Nadler off the collision course into a neighboring race after the state’s calamitous redistricting process unexpectedly combined their West and East Side districts this spring. But he pushed forward, relying in a lightning-fast campaign on his reputation as an old-school progressive and leading foil to Donald J. Trump to win over voters in one of the nation’s most liberal districts.“Here’s the thing: I’m a New Yorker, just like Bella Abzug, Ted Weiss and Bill Fitts Ryan,” Mr. Nadler, 75, told supporters after his victory, referencing liberal lions who represented New York in Congress. “We New Yorkers just don’t know how to surrender.”Mr. Nadler, in thanking Ms. Maloney, said that the two had “spent much of our adult life working together to better New York and our nation.”He won the contest for New York’s redrawn 12th District with 56 percent of the vote, compared with Ms. Maloney’s 24 percent, with 93 percent of votes counted. A third candidate, Suraj Patel, earned 19 percent, siphoning crucial votes away from Ms. Maloney, whom he nearly beat two years ago.It all but assures Mr. Nadler a 16th full term in Congress and Ms. Maloney’s political retirement.The race — which ended in underhanded jabs about Mr. Nadler’s mental and physical fitness — was the highlight of a string of ugly primary contests that played out across the state on Tuesday, from Long Island to Buffalo, as Democrats and Republicans each fought over rival personalities and the ideological direction of their parties.In another of the most closely watched contests, Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, the moderate lawmaker tasked with protecting Democrats’ narrow House majority, easily fended off a challenge from Alessandra Biaggi, a state senator and a rising star of New York’s left wing.The race in the lower Hudson Valley had become an ideological proxy fight, and Ms. Biaggi’s defeat was the latest high-profile setback for leftists in New York. The former President Bill Clinton and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed Mr. Maloney, while Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez publicly backed Ms. Biaggi.“Tonight, mainstream won,” Mr. Maloney said in his victory speech. He will face Mike Lawler, a Republican assemblyman, in what may be a competitive general election.Outside Buffalo, Carl Paladino, a businessman known for his explosive, sometimes racist remarks, was leading a Republican primary against Nick Langworthy, the state Republican chairman who entered the race because he feared that Mr. Paladino could harm the party’s statewide ticket in November.A 13-candidate Democratic primary in the new 10th District connecting Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan remained too close to call, as Daniel S. Goldman held a narrow lead. The results were similarly close in a special election for a Hudson Valley swing seat, vacated by Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, that could offer a preview of the general election.The primary contests were particularly painful for Democrats, who entered the election cycle optimistic that the decennial redistricting process in blue New York would yield crucial pickup opportunities to protect their loose grip on the House of Representatives this fall.Instead, the state’s highest court ruled this spring that the Democrats’ congressional map was unconstitutional and put in place a neutral alternative. It set off anguishing intraparty brawls that have drained millions of dollars that party leaders had hoped would go toward defeating Republicans and will now cost the state Ms. Maloney’s important House Oversight and Reform Committee chairmanship in Washington. More

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      Sean Patrick Maloney Repels Challenge to Win Bitterly Fought Primary

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      Representative Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, won his primary contest on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, defeating Alessandra Biaggi, a state senator who challenged him from the left.The race for the newly redrawn 17th District of New York was a high-drama, divisive affair that drew involvement from an array of national figures. Democrats including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former President Bill Clinton backed Mr. Maloney, while Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and a number of progressive organizations supported the state senator.“Tonight, mainstream won,” Mr. Maloney said on Tuesday night. “Common sense won. Democrats want candidates who get results and bring home the win.”Alessandra Biaggi, a progressive state senator, argued that the Democratic Party’s leadership had been too timid in the face of urgent threats to the country — including the overturning of Roe v. Wade.Mary Altaffer/Associated PressThroughout the race, Mr. Maloney cast himself as a pragmatic politician who understood the needs of the region intimately and had a record of delivering for the area. He campaigned on recent Democratic legislative victories and suggested that Ms. Biaggi was too far to the left for the district on issues like public safety.“If you look around the country, I think what’s clear is that the common-sense wing of the Democratic Party that is focused on working with people to get things done is on the rise, and the socialist wing is on the decline, and it’s about time,” Mr. Maloney said in an interview last week. (Ms. Biaggi does not identify as a democratic socialist.)A number of Mr. Maloney’s supporters argued that Ms. Biaggi’s past criticism of the police could become a liability in November. And some of her past remarks were used against her as outside money poured in against Ms. Biaggi from groups including the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, which endorsed former President Donald J. Trump in 2020.Ms. Biaggi, whose grandfather, Mario Biaggi, served in Congress, rose to prominence in New York politics in 2018 after defeating a powerful incumbent. She became a leader of the state’s left wing and ran an energetic campaign for the 17th District in the northern exurbs of New York City. Ms. Biaggi argued that the party’s leadership had been too timid in the face of urgent threats to the country — especially the overturning of Roe v. Wade — and positioned herself as a fighter, deriding her opponent as a “selfish corporate Democrat.”But she had just three months to introduce herself to voters in the newly configured district, where she only recently moved (though she grew up in the area), and Mr. Maloney, who is well-known in the Hudson Valley area, had huge institutional advantages, especially on the fund-raising front and through his extensive labor support.The race was set in motion after a messy redistricting process that split Mr. Maloney’s current district in two. Instead of running for a reconfigured version of his seat, Mr. Maloney chose to contest a slightly more Democratic-leaning district now held by Representative Mondaire Jones.Though Mr. Maloney noted that his Cold Spring home was within the lines of the district — which under new boundaries includes parts of Westchester County and the Hudson Valley — the move infuriated colleagues, who denounced it as a power grab from the man tasked with protecting the Democratic House majority.Mr. Maloney has said he could have handled the process better, even as he strongly defended his tenure as chair of the House Democratic campaign arm.“I understand people have concerns about it,” he said. “I’ve heard that, and I’m accountable for that.”He now heads into what is expected to be a competitive general election.Kristin Hussey contributed reporting. More

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      Jerry Nadler Routs Carolyn Maloney in Hard-Fought Matchup of Allies

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      Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, the powerful West Side Democrat and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, handily won a bruising primary contest on Tuesday, defeating his longtime congressional neighbor, Carolyn B. Maloney, according to The Associated Press.The highly charged summertime skirmish in the heart of Manhattan was unlike any New York City had seen in a generation and rivaled any intraparty House battle in recent memory. It pitted two committee chairs who have served side by side for three decades against each other and compelled some party faithful to pick sides.The star-crossed matchup emerged from a state court ruling that unexpectedly combined their districts this spring. Mr. Nadler and Ms. Maloney ultimately chose to run against each other in her 12th District, as talks to have one of them seek a neighboring seat went nowhere.Oddsmakers initially rated the contest a tossup, and Ms. Maloney doggedly trawled the district for votes. But Mr. Nadler quietly managed to assemble an enviable roster of endorsements, while capitalizing on his notoriety as a leading antagonist of former President Donald J. Trump in ways that proved impossible for his opponent to overcome.“Here’s the thing: I’m a New Yorker, just like Bella Abzug, Ted Weiss and Bill Fitts Ryan,” Mr. Nadler told supporters after his victory, referencing liberal lions who represented New York in Congress. “We New Yorkers just don’t know how to surrender.”He was winning the contest with a commanding 56 percent of the vote, compared with Ms. Maloney’s 24 percent, with 90 percent of the vote counted. A third candidate, Suraj Patel, earned 19 percent, siphoning crucial votes away from Ms. Maloney, whom he nearly beat two years ago.An old-school progressive first elected in 1992, Mr. Nadler, 75, is expected to easily win a 16th full term this fall in the overwhelmingly Democratic district. But with his advancing age and noticeably halting debate performances, questions are likely to accelerate about who might succeed him in representing one of the nation’s wealthiest congressional seats.Given those uncertainties and the ideological similarities between Mr. Nadler and Ms. Maloney, the outcome offers relatively little insight into the future direction of the Democratic Party.For Ms. Maloney, 76, the defeat is likely to spell a painful end to a pathbreaking career in elected office. A former teacher and legislative aide, she first won a seat on the City Council from East Harlem in 1982 and a seat in Congress representing the East Side’s famed “Silk Stocking” district a decade later, eventually rising to become the first woman to lead the House Oversight and Reform Committee.In the shadow of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Ms. Maloney campaigned aggressively on her record of fighting for feminist causes. She pointedly accused Mr. Nadler of trying to take credit for her legislative priorities, like the Second Avenue Subway, and ran a television ad for weeks telling New Yorkers, “You cannot send a man to do a woman’s job.” And as she veered toward defeat in recent days, her campaign fanned questions about Mr. Nadler’s physical health and mental acuity.A third candidate, Suraj Patel, 38, tried to make the race about generational change, arguing that the Democratic Party needed fresh leaders rather than failed “1990s politicians” like Mr. Nadler and Ms. Maloney.Neither frame ultimately proved persuasive to voters, though, or at least not enough to overcome the enthusiastic base of support that turned out for Mr. Nadler on the Upper West Side.On the campaign trail, the congressman cast himself as a consistent warrior for civil rights and civil liberties whose experience is needed as the former president and his acolytes shake some of the foundations of American government.Mr. Nadler sought to galvanize voters in what may be the most Jewish district in the country around his status as the last remaining Jewish congressman in New York City. As the race stretched on, he also went on the attack against Ms. Maloney, accusing her of poor judgment when she voted for the Iraq War (he voted against) and when she helped amplify questions about debunked ties between vaccines for children and autism. A shadowy super PAC that has yet to disclose its donors picked up on the attack and spent more than $200,000 on television ads driving it home.But above all, Mr. Nadler played a deft inside game, calling on decades-long relationships to build a stable of powerful supporters, including Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, New York’s Working Families Party and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, who was the only member of the state’s congressional delegation to wade into the race. More

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      Rebekah Jones Will Face Matt Gaetz in Florida in November

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      Representative Matt Gaetz, the far-right Republican who easily won his primary on Tuesday in Florida’s First Congressional District, will face a Democratic challenger in November who made national headlines early in the coronavirus pandemic.Rebekah D. Jones, a former data manager for the Florida Department of Health, defeated Peggy Schiller in the Democratic primary, according to The Associated Press, after a confusing legal back-and-forth over whether Ms. Jones was eligible to appear on the ballot.Just a day before the primary, a Florida appeals court ruled that Ms. Jones could remain on the ballot. That reversed the decision of a lower court judge who had said that she was ineligible because state law requires a candidate running in a partisan primary to sign an oath declaring membership in that party for at least the previous year.During a daylong trial this month, lawyers for Ms. Schiller had showed that Ms. Jones switched her party registration from Democrat to unaffiliated for two months in 2021, while she was briefly living in Maryland after clashing with the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida over coronavirus statistics.That clash put a spotlight on Ms. Jones in 2020, when she claimed that she had been fired from her government job for refusing to suppress virus data from the public. In what became a monthslong saga, Ms. Jones filed a whistle-blower complaint, turned into a vocal critic of Mr. DeSantis and was eventually criminally charged with accessing a state computer and downloading a file without authorization.The criminal case against Ms. Jones is pending. In May, an inspector general for the Department of Health found that three allegations that Ms. Jones had made against several health officials were “unsubstantiated.”Ms. Jones returned to Florida from Maryland in July last year. She filed to run for Congress against Mr. Gaetz in his heavily Republican district in the Panhandle.A three-judge panel from the state First District Court of Appeal ruled on Monday that the candidate oath signed by Ms. Jones could not be enforced because the law “provides no express authority to disqualify a party candidate if she was not in fact a registered party member during the 365-day window.”In the ruling, Judge Rachel E. Nordby, who was appointed by Mr. DeSantis, acknowledged that the decision “could invite bad actors to qualify for the ballot using false party affiliation statements to inject chaos into a party’s primary.”The ruling allowed any votes cast for Ms. Jones to count, and preliminary results showed she defeated Ms. Schiller. More