(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Two Democratic lawmakers engaged in a snarky back-and-forth on X over what is driving the electoral surge of socialists within the Democratic Party.
Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., clashed over whether recent primary defeats of establishment Democrats were fueled by voters’ economic frustrations or by other issues.
Goldman, who lost his primary to democratic socialist-aligned Brad Lander, pushed back on Khanna’s claim that the socialist surge reflects growing anger over the economy.
“This is wrong,” Goldman wrote Aug. 3 on X in response to Khanna’s remarks. He noted that he and two other defeated Democrats “had very progressive records,” including support for Medicare for All.
This is wrong @RoKhanna. All three of us who lost in NYC had very progressive records (including supporting Medicare for All) and we all had the overwhelming support of actual working families — labor unions, public housing residents and immigrant communities. That’s because we… https://t.co/V3ELTIXsaE
— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) August 3, 2026
Goldman was responding to Khanna’s appearance on Fox News, where the California congressman argued that “people are upset at an unfair political and economic system.”
Khanna fired back on X: “Dan, losing is hard.”
He added, “My point is why not reflect on the lesson voters were sending upset about AIPAC, about money going to foreign wars, about food and gas prices up because of Middle East conflicts.”
Khanna wrote that Goldman had “a long career ahead” of himself and suggested that “maybe the loss will make you a voice calling for an end to the occupation or a Palestinian state.”
Dan, losing is hard. I lost twice.
I lost to Tom Lantos when I ran the first anti-Iraq war primary in the nation in 2003. I was disappointed I got 19% to Lantos’s 71% even though the district was overwhelmingly opposed to the war. Lantos said “young man unless you’re a movie… https://t.co/e7niiedaBV
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) August 3, 2026
Goldman, who is Jewish and a self-described “proud Zionist,” faced fiery backlash from the anti-Israel left in his district.
His opponent exploited Goldman’s support for Israel to mobilize voters in the June 23 primary. Goldman lost the race by nearly 30 percentage points.
In response, Goldman doubled down on his theory that his defeat was not a referendum on the economy.
“I know why I lost. And it’s not because of the economic concerns of working families…” he wrote.
“The voters in my district prioritized a different issue, and I respect their decision,” Goldman added. “But let’s not pretend that the outcome of my race — or Adriano’s or NY-7 — was because of economic concerns of working families struggling mightily to make ends meet.”
Thank you Ro. I know why I lost. And it’s not because of the economic concerns of working families (which was the centerpiece of my campaign, in addition to being uniquely qualified and situated to hold Donald Trump accountable). Nor is it because of the war in Iran, which I… https://t.co/KZGCypu9ne
— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) August 3, 2026
Goldman was referring to Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., who also lost his primary to DSA candidate Darializa Chevalier.
Establishment-backed Democrat Antonio Reynoso was also defeated in the primary for retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s seat by DSA candidate Claire Valdez.
