NYC Councilman Justin Brannan eyes Congress run, sources say

City Councilman Justin Brannan (right) is apparently eyeing a run for Congress. John McCarten/New York City Council

A lefty Brooklyn pol who handily won a high-stakes City Council race earlier this month in a rare battle of two incumbents now has his eyes on Capitol Hill, The Post has learned.

Democratic Councilman Justin Brannan, who beat Republican Councilman Ari Kagan by 18 points to continue representing Bay Ridge and nearby neighborhoods, is seriously considering running next year to unseat Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, multiple sources said.

Although the 11^th Congressional District has long been a Republican stronghold encompassing Malliotaksis’ home borough of Staten Island and moderate sections of southern Brooklyn, political pundits say Brannan has a legit shot to win, provided the legislative boundaries are redrawn as many expect to include more liberal sections of Brooklyn.

“He beat a somewhat popular [Republican] candidate by nearly 20 points in a district where” fellow Democrats President Biden, Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams “aren’t popular, so he’s proved he has the political machine and he’s good campaigner – but it will all depend on how the lines are drawn, especially in a presidential election year,” said Chris Coffey, a Democratic consultant and one-time aide to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Justin Brannan beat Republican Ari Kagan in an area where other democrats like President Biden, Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams are unpopular.

John McCarten//New York City Council

Last year, Albany Democrats tried crushing Malliotakis’ re-election bid by shifting her district’s predominantly conservative boundaries more north in Brooklyn, to include Park Slope and other Democratic stronghold sections.

However, a judge struck down the so-called “Hochulmander” — redistricting done under Dem Gov. Kathy Hochul — because it was too partisan, and a special master redrew the lines fairer, leading to Malliotakis coasting over Democratic ex-Rep. Max Rose.

Albany Democrats are expected to take a fresh look at the district lines before next year’s race, and many Dems and Republicans anticipate a compromise redistricting that’ll still provide Malliotakis a key piece of her conservative base but also include more liberal parts of Brooklyn to give Democrats like Brannan a legitimate shot.

Sources said Brannan will seek Congress by running against Republican Nicole Malliotakis.

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Brannan will have the odds stacked against him trying to sway conservative Staten Island voters who hardly know him, but longtime Democratic consultant Neal Kwatra said the lawmaker “proved he could connect” with new constituents during his race against Kagan.

Brannan had to appeal to voters on Coney Island and other parts of Brooklyn he never represented because his district and Kagan’s were merged — and he did so convincingly despite being at war with the leaders of Brooklyn’s Democratic Party.

“He’s defended his seat multiple times against very well-resourced opposition in a very tough part of Brooklyn for Democrats to win in, with good political organizing and relationship building,” said Kwatra. “If you’re going to run for Congress, you need those things.”

Brannan has fought difficult races in Brooklyn without help from local Democrats, and won.

Gregory P. Mango

And it didn’t hurt that Brannan, 45, proved to be a prolific fundraiser.

Political action committees run by the Hotel Trades Council, Real Estate Board of New York and other powerful allies raised $401,112 for ads to help Brannan defeat Kagan — on top of the more than $255,000 Brannan’s campaign raised itself.

Brannan declined to confirm his candidacy but claimed “many people are urging” him to run for Congress because they’re fed up with Malliotakis.

Brannan claims that many people are encouraging him to run against Nicole Malliotakis.

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“The hardworking people of Bay Ridge and Staten Island want results, and that means they deserve a representative in Congress who’s going to do more than go on TV and wage culture wars,” said Brannan.

Before getting into politics, Brannan was an intern on “The Howard Stern Show,” a guitarist in two punk bands, an announcer of WNEW-FM radio and a Wall Street financier.

He founded the Bay Ridge Democrats club in 2010 — a time when no one thought the area would go blue – and eventually became known as a neighborhood “fixer” of constituent problems before being elected to the Council in 2017.

He was a frontrunner for Council speaker during the 2021 race but eventually settled during horse-trading amongst members for being named chairman of the powerful finance committee that oversees the city budget.

Malliotakis did not return messages.