Brad Lander’s congressional campaign launch hit an unexpected speed bump Wednesday when his X, formerly Twitter, account was briefly hijacked by hackers posting about crypto windfalls and a powder-blue Cadillac.
The outgoing city comptroller quickly turned the episode into a joke and a fundraising pitch as he kicked off his primary challenge to Rep. Dan Goldman in Brooklyn on Dec. 10.
Before arriving at Park Slope’s Nitehawk Cinema for his official launch event, Lander resurfaced online with a quip: “Logging back on from my new Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing after a busy launch day. Did I miss anything?”
Lander, 56, said he did not know “why or by whom” his account was breached, but stated that his team worked with the platform to restore access.
“People know I’m not a Bitcoin hawker,” he told amNewYork, adding that no one would mistake him for the crypto-supporting mayor, Eric Adams, nor imagine he had Cadillacs to sell.
The issue provided some levity to a room otherwise primed for urgency. In a nod to his launch-day ad, Lander again cast himself as “Mr. Rogers with a steel spine,” telling supporters the country is facing a “five-alarm fire for our democracy” and needs leaders willing to confront Donald Trump’s “attacks on immigrants, civil rights, and democratic institutions.”
Goldman’s campaign team told amNewYork on Wednesday that the Congressman is proud of his progressive record and that he would not be worrying about any challengers to his seat until the new year.
‘Body on the line’
Lander’s wife, Meg Barnette, told supporters crammed into the Nitehawk Cinema’s bar space that the district cannot settle for “business as usual,” adding that “sternly worded letters and very strong press conferences are not going to cut it.”
She described Lander’s “relentless energy” and said the campaign would depend on collective action: “Brad cannot do this alone. He needs all of you… you are hungry for the ways that Brad is going to inspire activism, bring people together, and organize this district to stand up for our neighbors, our city, and our principles.”
Working Families Party co-director Ana María Archila, who endorsed Lander on day one, emphasized his long record of supporting workers and immigrants. She recalled meeting him in 2003, “before he was elected to City Council… before he was a national model for moral courage,” and praised his willingness to “fight for workers… fight for tenants… and put his body on the line.”
“This district,” Archila said, “is the birthplace of the idea that we deserve a kind of politics that puts people at the center, instead of bending the knee to the rich and well-connected. And that is why we are so proud to stand here today to say we are ready for this fight.”
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, another “day-one” endorser, framed Lander as the kind of Democrat the moment demands. “It takes courage … it doesn’t mean you’re not going to be afraid,” he said. “You have to have the courage to match the fear of the moment, and I’ve seen Brad have that time and time again.”
Williams highlighted Lander’s history of direct-action protest, especially at 26 Federal Plaza.
“Whatever privilege we have, it is our duty to use that privilege to protect others who don’t have it,” he said, urging attendees to support not only the campaign but “the people who need your assistance” in immigrant-protection efforts across the city.
Other day-one endorsers to the campaign included Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani was featured heavily in the rolling slideshow at the event, but did not make an appearance on Wednesday night.
By Wednesday afternoon, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-backed Councilmember Alexa Avilés and former Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou — both of whom had been considering a run against Goldman themselves — announced they would not enter the race, removing two potential rivals from Lander’s left.
Mamdani told reporters on Thursday morning that the DSA was still his political home despite opting for Lander in the NY-10 race, and rallying against Brooklyn Councilmember Chi Ossé’s now defunct bid to challenge House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Lander draws contrasts with Goldman on Trump, foreign policy, and urgency
Throughout his address, Lander suggested Goldman is too cautious in the face of Trump’s second-term actions. “People are hungry for leaders who recognize what time it is,” he said. “This is not a time for leaders who think Donald Trump is just a passing phase and we can continue to lead by introducing bills or with strongly worded letters.”
On foreign policy, Lander again criticized U.S. support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military campaign in Gaza.
While both he and Goldman agree Hamas committed a war crime on Oct. 7, Lander said, “only one of the two of us recognizes that Netanyahu’s leveling of schools and hospitals and the destruction of Gaza was a war crime.”
He framed the race as a choice between candidates who “believe everyone’s lives are equal” and those aligned with “pro-Israel lobbying groups, like AIPAC.”
Lander repeatedly connected his congressional bid to hyperlocal organizing, tenant protections, rezonings, school desegregation efforts, and storm-response mutual aid, invoking such moments as evidence of what this community does when it fights back.
“Empathy is a superpower,” he said. “When people come together in moments of crisis, they become capable of things they didn’t expect were possible.”
He pledged that volunteers for his campaign would be asked to split their time between campaign work and community defense efforts: “For every shift you spend knocking doors, we’ll ask for one shift protecting neighbors from ICE on our streets or at 26 Federal Plaza.”
Despite Goldman’s large fundraising advantage, Lander’s team reported more than 2,000 donors on launch day. “Maybe we’ll get past 3,000 today,” he told the crowd. “We’re not going to have the resources to match the other guy… but what we’re going to have more of is people.”
Lander praised their decisions, saying, “I’m excited to be the candidate that can bring progressives together to win this race,” though he did not say whether he had spoken to them before launching his bid.
Closing his speech, Lander returned to his ad’s framing: “People want somebody with compassion and empathy, but they also want elected officials with the steel spine necessary to stand up to ICE and to Trump… and with the strategic discipline to build a broad coalition that can actually defeat fascism in the coming elections.”
