EXCLUSIVE: Brooklyn Assemblymember Robert Carroll backs Dan Goldman in NY10 race

Collage Maker-07-Jul-2022-08.57-AM
Assemblymember Robert Carroll (left) and Dan Goldman, former lead counsel in the first impeachment of ex-President Donald Trump.
Photos courtesy of Goldman campaign and Robert Carroll, illustration by Ethan Stark-Miller

Brooklyn Assemblymember Robert Carroll is throwing his support behind Dan Goldman, the former lead counsel in the first impeachment of ex-President Donald Trump, in his bid to represent the newly reconfigured 10th Congressional District – only a couple months after considering running for the seat himself.

In an interview with PoliticsNY, Carroll said Goldman is the candidate with the most experience taking on national Republicans, which he said is a vitally important skill for whoever wins the seat in the August 23 primary.

“I think Dan is far and away the most qualified candidate for this office, for this moment,” Carroll said. “We are in a moment where our democracy is legitimately in peril and the Republican Party, both nationally and on a state level, is trying to dismantle our democracy. And I was impressed with Dan’s work as the lead lawyer in the impeachment trial and what he was able to do over two and a half years ago in impeaching Donald Trump when he was trying to coerce the Ukrainian president. And we are really in this crisis and we need a leader in the House of Representatives who can, on day one, push back against those worst attempts by the National Republican Party.”

Picking up Carroll’s endorsement could give a boost to Goldman’s campaign, as Carroll represents several neighborhoods in the new district that stretches from lower Manhattan to Brownstone Brooklyn including Park Slope, Windsor Terrace and Borough Park.

“Assemblymember Carroll is an exceptional public servant with a track record of delivering for our community, and I am proud to earn his endorsement,” Goldman said in a release shared first with PoliticsNY. “We are facing threats to our democracy, our fundamental rights, our safety and our planet; the stakes have never been higher. Defending our basic rights and values will take a whole-of-government approach, and I thank Bobby for standing with me in this existential fight.”

With the announcement of Carroll’s endorsement and news that his campaign has so far raised $1.2 million both coming out this week, it’s clear Goldman is trying to build momentum for his campaign. And that momentum is needed. Because while many may recognize him from the televised Trump impeachment hearings in 2019, and his role as an MSNBC contributor, Goldman still has lower name recognition than some of his rivals including former Mayor Bill de Blasio and U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones (D–Rockland, Westchester Counties).

Prior to his role in Trump’s impeachment trial, Goldman served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York under former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. He lives in Tribeca with his wife and their five children.

Carroll had publicly mulled a run for the newly redrawn seat when draft maps revealing its likely contours were released in late May – after the state’s highest court threw out gerrymandered lines drawn by the state legislature, but ultimately decided not to run because he didn’t feel it was the right time.

“I just didn’t think I was the right person at the time,” Carroll said. “I enjoy my job at the state Assembly. It’s very good work. And, you know, it was not the right time for me or my family.”

In backing Goldman’s campaign, Carroll broke with some of his allies in the progressive New Kings Democrats, like U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D–Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens), Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and City Councilmember Lincoln Restler (D–Brooklyn), who’ve all thrown their support behind Councilmember Carlina Rivera (D–Manhattan). On Wednesday, Rivera also picked up the endorsement of 1199SEIU, the powerful healthcare workers union.

Jones, an upstate rep who’s running in CD10 after U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D–Hudson Valley) declared a run for his current seat, also picked up a big endorsement Thursday – getting the backing of New Jersey U.S. Sen. Cory Booker.

Other contenders for the open seat include Assemblymembers Yuh-Line Niou (D–Manhattan) and Jo Anne Simon and former Congressmember and city Comptroller Elizabeth Holtzman.