In NY, pro-Iran deal Jewish lawmaker beats out gay religious challenger

NEW YORK — Rep. Jerrold Nadler won the Democratic primary Tuesday for a New York City congressional seat he’s held for nearly a quarter-century, defeating his opponent in the first Democratic primary challenge he’s faced in two decades.

Nadler’s win against Oliver Rosenberg, a gay religious Jew, came after a contentious primary battle that brought his support of President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal to the forefront of the campaign in a congressional district heavily comprised of Jewish voters.

“It’s a great night,” Nadler campaign spokesman Danny Schwarz said. “Tonight, in a pretty emphatic fashion, we heard from the voters.”

Rosenberg had pushed Nadler’s support of the Iran deal to the center of the campaign in New York’s 10th Congressional District, which covers a large portion of Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, including the Borough Park neighborhood, which is largely comprised of Orthodox Jewish families.

Schwarz said Nadler “never took anything for granted” and debated Rosenberg publicly because “it’s important that voters hear from their elected leaders.”

Rosenberg, 30, a California native, is a graduate of Yeshiva University and a former JP Morgan investment banker-turned-high-tech entrepreneur.

He came out publicly in 2008 on a panel discussion at Yeshiva University, and in 2014 started Or Chayim, a monthly Orthodox Shabbat service on the Upper West Side for LGBT Jews.

Rosenberg had said during a debate on public radio station WNYC that Nadler supported a “disastrous” bill. But Nadler argued that he supported a measure aimed at ensuring Iran wouldn’t have access to nuclear weapons for several years, saying the nation would be “far less dangerous an enemy without nuclear bombs.”

Nadler’s support of the Iran deal also led to a scathing editorial in the New York Daily News, which urged its readers to toss him from office and accused him of “helping lead the world in a disastrous direction.”

Curtis Ellis, a spokesman for Rosenberg’s campaign, said the 30-year-old former investment banker was proud of the work he did during the campaign and put Nadler to the test in the primary.

“Congressman Nadler learned he couldn’t take the voters for granted. He had to ask for the vote and that should make him a better congressman,” Ellis said. “Contested elections are a good habit to get into. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another 20 years.”

Throughout the election cycle, Nadler had touted himself as a champion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights who advocated to designate New York City’s historic gay bar the Stonewall Inn as a national monument to gay rights and who pushed to ensure there was continued funding for the 9/11 health care bill and fought against funding cuts for the city’s mass transit system.

Rosenberg argued Nadler was out of touch with younger voters and should be working harder to ensure small businesses in the city can stay afloat.

Given the district’s heavily Democratic electorate, Nadler’s win is likely to be echoed in the general election.

JTA contributed to this report.