Nadler, who was first elected to Congress in 1992, was the only Jewish Democratic U.S. House member to support the Iran deal. His opponent, Oliver Rosenberg, had pushed Nadler’s support of that measure 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, a former investment banker, 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.

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